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Set Up in Japan Plain answers. Real life. SIM cards · Updated October 2026Ad · Affiliate links
A monthly SIM in English that takes foreign cards and has no credit check. It costs ¥3,278 to ¥12,078 a month with a phone number, plus a ¥5,500 activation fee. If your residence card was issued on or after 14 June 2026, you pick the SIM up in person.
Prices as read on October 3, 2026.
From Sakura Mobile's own pages, its written answers to a mystery shopper, and posts by its customers. Each point is sourced further down.
Our view: worth it for your first months if you have no Japanese credit card or bank account yet. Once you can pass a normal contract check, compare other SIM plans.
What happens after you click: Sakura Mobile's Voice+Data page opens, in English. You choose a plan, and your ID decides how you get the SIM. A residence card, My Number card or Japanese driver's license with your address lets you verify online, and the SIM arrives 1 to 3 days after approval; someone has to be home for the ID check at the door. With only a passport, or a residence card issued from 14 June 2026, you collect it at the Shinjuku office or an airport counter (order at least 3 days ahead for the airport). The ¥5,500 activation fee is charged when the application completes.
See Sakura Mobile's plans and sign up in English
Monthly prices including tax, from Sakura Mobile's price page, read October 3, 2026. Voice+Data includes a Japanese phone number; calls and SMS are billed on top.
| Data per month | Voice+Data | Data only |
|---|---|---|
| 5GB | ¥3,278 | ¥2,728 |
| 15GB | ¥3,828 | ¥3,278 |
| 30GB | ¥4,378 | ¥3,828 |
| 40GB | ¥5,478 | ¥4,928 |
| 60GB | ¥7,678 | ¥7,128 |
| 80GB | ¥9,878 | ¥9,328 |
| 100GB | ¥12,078 | ¥11,528 |
| Upfront costs | ¥5,500 activation fee, charged when the application completes Students get ¥1,100 off with the code studentdiscount. Provider page, read October 3, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Phone number and SMS | Calls ¥16.5 per 30 seconds, SMS ¥5.5. Incoming calls and SMS free SMS rate from the help center: "Outgoing SMS: 5.5 JPY per 160 characters". Provider page, read October 3, 2026 |
| Leaving early | Cancel by the 25th to end the contract that month. The last month is billed in full Provider page, read September 17, 2026 |
| Accepted ID | Credit screening: noneJune 2026 residence card: not accepted online Residence card, My Number card or Japanese driver's license online. Passport with in-person pickup Provider page, read October 3, 2026 |
| Payment | Credit or debit card, including foreign cards. No bank transfer or prepaid cards Cash at convenience stores is possible with a ¥20,000 deposit for Voice+Data. Provider page, read October 3, 2026 |
| Delivery | Home delivery in 1 to 3 days, or pickup at an airport counter or the Shinjuku office Provider page, read September 17, 2026 |
Ready to sign up? Verify online or pick up in person
If you live in Japan, take the Voice+Data plan: it comes with a Japanese phone number, and the tourist eSIM is data only. Sakura Mobile sells the prepaid travel eSIM for stays of up to 90 days.
| Tourist eSIM | Resident plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | No, data only | Yes, with Voice+Data |
| Price | From ¥1,375 including tax | From ¥3,278 a month, plus a ¥5,500 activation fee |
| Length | Plans for stays of up to 90 days | Monthly; cancel by the 25th |
| Fits | A visitor, or a few days of data before your Japanese number arrives | Someone living in Japan |
Sources: Sakura Mobile's travel eSIM page, read October 3, 2026, and its monthly price page, read October 3, 2026. The tourist price is the starting price on that page.
With a residence card showing your Japanese address, you can verify your ID online and have the SIM delivered in 1 to 3 days. The delivery driver checks your ID at the door, so someone has to be home. A My Number card or Japanese driver's license also works.
If your residence card was issued on or after 14 June 2026, Sakura Mobile told a mystery shopper it cannot yet be used for online verification. You pick the SIM up in person instead. The Sakura Mobile pages we could read did not mention this on 3 October 2026. See which other carriers accept the new card on the residence card verification tracker.
Without a Japanese address, sign up with your passport and collect the SIM in person. The Shinjuku office (Nishishinjuku 1-3-13, 6th floor) is open 10:00 to 17:00 every day and needs no booking. Airport counters at Narita, Haneda and Fukuoka need your order at least 3 days ahead and charge no pickup fee.
Check Kansai before choosing it: the Voice+Data FAQ lists Kansai, but the pickup page says Voice+Data orders cannot be picked up there.
Payment is by credit or debit card, including cards issued abroad. Sakura Mobile does not take bank transfers or prepaid cards. Paying cash at a convenience store needs a ¥20,000 deposit for Voice+Data and rules out airport pickup (payment page).
Have your ID and card ready? Apply in English
Submit the cancellation form on My Page by the 25th, and the contract ends on the last day of that month. You can do this from outside Japan. A form sent between 26 August and 25 September ends the contract on 30 September.
The last month is not prorated (help center). That includes the month you move your number to another carrier: Sakura Mobile's terms bill you until the end of that month.
Moving your number out costs ¥1,100. The transfer number takes 2 to 3 days and expires after 14 days, and Data-only plans cannot get one (help center). You return the Voice+Data SIM and pay the postage; there is no fee for a late or lost SIM.
Canceling within 8 days of receiving the SIM costs a ¥3,300 contract handling fee plus the days used (help center).
Sakura Mobile told a mystery shopper there is no minimum contract period and no early cancellation fee. Its help center says a fee "may be incurred" for irregular or early termination without giving an amount, and its terms of service mention a "minimum usage specified by each plan". No plan page states a minimum.
A mystery shopper emailed Sakura Mobile on 17 September 2026. It replied in English in 1 hour 45 minutes, and answered a follow-up in 40 minutes.
We read Sakura Mobile posts on Reddit and its high and low rated reviews on Trustpilot, looking for people living in Japan on monthly plans. Most are positive. People who had just arrived praise signing up without a Japanese address or card, and long-term customers praise support in English. Price is the usual complaint, including from people who recommend it. A few mention weak signal or being billed for a full month after leaving.
On Trustpilot, Sakura Mobile scores 4.8 from about 1,500 reviews, many of them from travel customers. The quotes below are short extracts, praise and complaints, dated and linked so you can read them in full.
“That's what I did and had a phone number from day 1 of arriving in Japan. They take payment with foreign cards…”
“I joined Sakura mobile quite a number of years ago now, basically as the communication can be done in English. I have not had any issues.”
“Long-term Japanese resident here. The monthly plans are affordable & work great for hot-spot connections (ie- ability to work from anywhere).”
“Yes, they're a little pricey, but you won't have to deal with the cyclical nightmare of needing a local address…”
“I'm using a monthly contract for data+call, and so far it has worked really smoothly for me.”
“They're a bit pricier but the service is great (I'm still with them 2.5 years in).”
“I wouldn't recommend Sakura Mobile simply because it gets expensive, though having English service can come in clutch sometimes.”
“They also charged me for a full month of service even though I had already ported my number out.”
“I was in dead zones for the most part and hardly had a signal”
Decided on Sakura Mobile? Sign up in English
If you have no credit card at all, look at Lyprimo, a prepaid SIM with no credit check. If you have a Japanese bank account but no card, Goen Mobile takes payment from the account. Both are on our SIM card comparison, with prices and ID rules. To collect a SIM at the airport with only a passport and no activation fee, read our Mobal review.
Our Sakura Mobile vs Mobal comparison puts the two side by side: prices at each data size, accepted ID, payment and support.
If you mainly need data for a laptop, compare pocket Wi-Fi or home internet first.
Prices, fees and rules come from Sakura Mobile's own pages, read on October 3, 2026, and from its help center and written replies to a mystery shopper, read on 17 September 2026. Customer quotes were read on their original pages on September 17, 2026. We have not used a Sakura Mobile SIM ourselves, and there is no star rating here because we have not tested the service.
The sign-up buttons on this page are affiliate links: if you sign up through one, Sakura Mobile pays us a commission and your price stays the same. Sakura Mobile did not see this page before it went up. Read our editorial policy.
We'd pick it if you have just arrived, have no Japanese credit card and want English support. Most reviews we read from residents on monthly plans are positive. The usual complaint is price, so if you can pass a normal contract check, compare other plans on our SIM card page first.
No. Sakura Mobile told a mystery shopper in writing on 17 September 2026 that there is no credit check. You still need accepted ID and a credit or debit card.
Yes. Its payment page says it accepts most credit and debit cards, including cards issued abroad. It does not take bank transfers or prepaid cards.
Send the cancellation form on the Sakura Mobile My Page by the 25th. The contract ends on the last day of that month, and the last month is billed in full.
Yes. Sakura Mobile told a mystery shopper tourists can sign up for Voice+Data with a passport. You pick the SIM up in person at an airport counter or the Shinjuku office.
Yes. Monthly pocket Wi-Fi on SoftBank costs ¥5,478 for 100GB plus a ¥5,500 activation fee. Home Wi-Fi is ¥7,678 a month plus a ¥5,500 initial fee.
Monthly SIMs and eSIMs use docomo 5G and 4G. Pocket Wi-Fi uses SoftBank.
See Sakura Mobile's plans and sign up in English