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Set Up in Japan Plain answers. Real life. SIM cards · Updated October 2026Ad · Affiliate links
A SIM or eSIM with a Japanese number that you can pick up with only a passport: no residence card, and Mobal told a mystery shopper there is no credit check. You pay by card or PayPal, from ¥1,650 (1GB) to ¥5,280 (50GB) a month, plus ¥4,950 for the SIM.
Prices as read on September 17, 2026.
From Mobal's own pages and help center, read September 17, 2026, and posts by its customers. We have not used a Mobal SIM ourselves.
Our view: useful for landing with a working number before you have a residence card. Once you have one and a bank account, compare other SIM plans.
What happens after you click: Mobal's Japan SIM or eSIM page opens, in English. You pick a plan, then pickup or delivery. For pickup, bring your physical passport and your order confirmation, and collect it the same day or on a date you choose. For delivery in Japan, have a residence card (front and back), My Number card (front) or Japanese driver's license (front and back) that shows your name and the delivery address. Mobal posts it to your local post office, and Japan Post leaves you a delivery notice, usually within 1 to 3 days. The SIM costs ¥4,950, the first month is prorated, and you activate within 30 days.
Order a Mobal SIM card for pickup or delivery
Or order the eSIM, which can take your existing number
Monthly prices for the Voice+Data 5G SIM card and eSIM, tax included, from Mobal's Japan SIM page, read September 17, 2026. Every plan includes a Japanese phone number; calls and SMS are billed on top.
| Data per month | Price |
|---|---|
| 1GB | ¥1,650 |
| 5GB | ¥3,190 |
| 10GB | ¥3,630 |
| 15GB | ¥3,795 |
| 30GB | ¥4,378 |
| 50GB | ¥5,280 |
| 100GB | ¥6,490After your first month |
| 200GB | ¥9,900After your first month |
A voice-only plan with no data is ¥1,430 a month. Unused data carries over for one month, and speed drops to about 200 Kbps once you use your allowance.
| Upfront costs | ¥4,950 for the SIM or eSIM. No activation fee The SIM Card page and the eSIM page each show ¥4,950, paid today. Provider page, read October 13, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Phone number and SMS | A 070, 080 or 090 number. Calls ¥44 a minute, SMS ¥33. Incoming free No Wi-Fi calling or MMS. Provider page, read September 17, 2026 |
| Leaving early | No minimum term or termination fee. The last month is charged in full Provider page, read September 17, 2026 |
| Accepted ID | Credit screening: noneJune 2026 residence card: accepted online Passport at a pickup point. For delivery in Japan: residence card, My Number card or Japanese driver's license, including cards issued from 14 June 2026 Mobal's written replies of 21 and 22 September 2026. The ID must show your name and the delivery address, matching the order. Pickup needs only the passport. Provider's reply to a mystery shopper, September 23, 2026 |
| Payment | Credit or debit card, or PayPal. No cash Provider page, read September 17, 2026 |
| Delivery | Same-day pickup at airports and stations, or shipped abroad before you travel. In Japan it goes to your local post office, and the delivery notice usually arrives within 1 to 3 days; you collect it there or book home delivery Mobal's page: voice SIMs and eSIMs with a Japanese number cannot be delivered directly to your address in Japan. The post office holds the order for about 10 days, and you show your ID to receive it. Provider page, read September 30, 2026 |
Ready to order? Pick up with a passport or have it delivered
The fastest way is pickup. Order online, then collect the SIM the same day at one of about 20 airport counters and station pickup points, including Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Fukuoka, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo Station, Osaka and Kyoto. You show a physical, unexpired passport; a scan or photocopy is refused.
For delivery to a Japanese address, you upload a residence card, My Number card or Japanese driver's license, and Mobal ships only to the address on it. Japan Post hands it over after checking your ID, and a passport is not accepted at the door (help center). A SIM or eSIM with a Japanese number cannot be delivered straight to your home: it goes to your local post office, and a delivery notice usually reaches you within 1 to 3 days. You then collect it at that post office or book home delivery through Japan Post, whose notice and website are in Japanese. The post office holds it for about 10 days. Mobal can also ship abroad before you travel, which takes from 2 business days to 30.
A voice eSIM is not emailed: Mobal posts you an access code, or you collect the code at a pickup point with your passport. On Android, calls need VoLTE support and Android 12 or newer. Wi-Fi calling and MMS are not supported.
If a Mobal SIM or eSIM will not activate or connect, the checks in order, the APN settings and what to send support are in Mobal activation and not working.
A mystery shopper asked Mobal on 17 September 2026 whether it runs a credit check and whether it accepts residence cards issued from 14 June 2026. It answered on 21 and 22 September: no credit check, and the new card is accepted for identity verification. Neither point is on its site. Pickup with a passport needs no residence card at all.
Order your Mobal SIM for airport pickup or delivery
You pay by credit or debit card, or PayPal. Mobal no longer takes cash from new customers.
The first month is prorated. After that, Mobal invoices on the 1st of each month and charges your card on the 8th. Call and SMS charges can arrive 1 to 2 months after you use them (billing help).
You can move to a bigger plan from the 1st of the next month, asking 48 hours ahead. You cannot change plans partway through a month or pause a 5G plan.
In MyAccount, go to Services, then More Information, then Cancel Service, and pick your last day. The last month is charged in full, and your number is gone once the line ends (help center).
To keep the number, request a transfer (MNP) in MyAccount first, with your name in katakana. Mobal ends the plan once the number moves. We found no transfer fee on Mobal's pages. Coming the other way, the 5G eSIM can take an existing Japanese number and the 5G SIM card cannot (porting help).
A Voice Lite SIM or eSIM, and the original Voice+Data SIM Card (called V1 in MyAccount), cannot use that form. Mobal asks you to email support@mobal.com with your request and your reason for porting (porting help).
Which Mobal product can take a number in, the steps to port out and what loses your number are in keeping your number with Mobal.
Mobal's money-back guarantee covers 8 days from activation, up to 90 days after purchase. You return the items, and plan and usage fees are not refunded (terms).
Mobal sells several generations of SIM at once, and its pages don't always match. These are the ones that could cost you:
On Trustpilot, read on October 3, 2026, Mobal scores 3.9 from 953 reviews, and 15% of them give one star. Long-term customers praise easy setup and having a real Japanese number for years without problems, and some reviewers with problems said a refund arrived. Some of the reviews predate the 5G plans released in July 2026.
We counted the themes in the 15 reviews of 1 to 3 stars posted from October 4, 2025 to October 3, 2026. One review can fall under several themes.
| Theme | Reviews out of 15 |
|---|---|
| No signal, slow data, or a SIM or eSIM that never worked | 7 |
| Slow, templated or unhelpful support | 7 |
| Charges, fees or refunds | 5 |
| An eSIM that would not install or could not be moved | 3 |
| Price or call rates too high | 3 |
| ID check repeated or rejected | 2 |
| Account blocked or closed | 2 |
| Parcel delivered to the wrong address | 1 |
The counts are ours, tagged by hand from Trustpilot's pages of 1, 2 and 3 star reviews on October 3, 2026, so a count can be off by one. Reviewers can edit a review later.
On Reddit, residents mention using Mobal to get a first number, open a bank account and then move the number to another carrier.
“I just made an account at shinsei bank with a mobal number! They didn't call it or anything.”
“fwiw, with the long term mobal sims these days, you can port the number now. I ported my mobal number to linemo last year.”
“Support sorted it all out and provided a refund. Top stuff!”
“I've been with Mobal for more than 3 years now, and it's been a breeze. Data, SMS, voice -- zero complaints about any of their services.”
“I have a true japanese phone number which makes life much easier when trying to get an apartment or other things for long term stays in japan.”
“As others say there is no phone number or a chat so you have to send an email.”
“Will charge you the full cost of a month of usage even if you only use it for the first couple of days of the new month.”
“I had Mobal when I first moved and it took awhile to figure out that part.”
“Yet Mobal sent another remail (with a NO REPLY ADDRESS) that I need to upload ID.”
Decided on Mobal? Order the SIM card
If you want someone to talk to in person, Sakura Mobile also works in English, has an office in Shinjuku and charges a ¥5,500 activation fee. If you have no credit card at all, look at Lyprimo, a prepaid SIM; with a Japanese bank account but no card, Goen Mobile. Both are on our SIM card comparison.
Our Sakura Mobile vs Mobal comparison puts the two side by side: prices at each data size, accepted ID, payment and support.
Prices and rules come from the prices shown on Mobal's pages, its help center and its terms, read on September 17, 2026. Mobal's page code also contains old prices that visitors don't see; we used only what the page displays. Customer quotes were read on their original pages that day. We have not used a Mobal SIM, so there is no star rating here.
The order buttons on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through one, Mobal pays us a commission and your price stays the same. Mobal did not see this page before it went up. Read our editorial policy.
It suits your first weeks: you can pick up a SIM with a Japanese number using only a passport, with support in English by email. Once you have a residence card and a bank account or credit card, compare it with the other plans on our SIM card page.
No, if you pick it up in person: a physical, unexpired passport is enough. For delivery to a Japanese address you upload a residence card, My Number card or Japanese driver's license, and the address on it must match the order.
Some people have. A Reddit user reported opening a Shinsei Bank account with a Mobal number in April 2025. Each bank sets its own rules, so check with the bank before you rely on it.
Yes. You request the transfer in MyAccount with your name in katakana, and Mobal ends the plan once the number moves. Bringing an existing number to Mobal works on the 5G eSIM, not on the 5G SIM card.
In MyAccount, open Services, then More Information, then Cancel Service, and choose your last day. Your number is lost unless you transfer it first, and the last month is charged in full.
No. Mobal told a mystery shopper in writing on 21 September 2026 that no credit check is required. You still pay by credit or debit card, or PayPal.
By credit or debit card, or PayPal; Mobal takes no cash from new customers. It invoices on the 1st of each month and charges your card on the 8th, and call and SMS charges can arrive 1 to 2 months after you use them.
On Trustpilot, Mobal scored 3.9 from 953 reviews when we checked on October 3, 2026. Long-term customers praise easy setup. Of the 15 reviews of 1 to 3 stars from the past year, 7 describe a SIM or eSIM that was slow or never worked, and 7 describe slow or unhelpful support.
Sakura Mobile and Mobal's 5G SIM Card use docomo, and both support you in English. Mobal's older SIM Cards and its Voice Lite use SoftBank. Mobal charges ¥4,950 for the SIM and no activation fee; Sakura Mobile charges a ¥5,500 activation fee. Both charge ¥4,378 a month for a 30GB plan with a phone number. Sakura Mobile has an office in Shinjuku; Mobal's product pages offer support by email only.
Order a Mobal SIM card for pickup or delivery
Or order the eSIM, which can take your existing number