Mobile data in Osaka for visitors
Osaka has two centres, Umeda in the north and Namba in the south, joined by the Midosuji subway line and served by several rail companies at once. Choosing the right one is a job for the phone, and so is eating your way along Dotonbori. The Japan eSIM uses NTT docomo, KDDI/au, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile and carries data only; your usual number stays on for calls.
At a glance
- Does an eSIM work in Japan?
- Yes. It connects to NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile, KDDI/au, SoftBank (5G).
- Price
- From 4,79 € (3 GB, 15 days).
- For a one-week trip
- 5 GB for 30 days: 7,49 €.
- Does an EU phone plan work there?
- No: Japan is outside EU roaming, so even a plan from an EU country charges it as abroad.
- When does the plan start?
- When your phone first connects to a network in Japan. The QR code arrives by email within minutes.
Kansai, Itami or Shin-Osaka
From Kansai International, the Nankai rapi:t is the fast train to Namba, JR's Haruka runs to Tennoji and Shin-Osaka, and the slower Kansai Airport Rapid carries on round to Osaka Station. The airport station is attached to Terminal 1; from Terminal 2 a free shuttle bus takes you there. Itami, the domestic airport, has limousine buses to Umeda, Namba and Shin-Osaka, and the Osaka Monorail connects with Hankyu and the Midosuji line.
By Shinkansen you arrive at Shin-Osaka, one stop north of Umeda on the Midosuji line. However you come in, choose the train before you reach the platform, which means data in the arrivals hall: turn on the eSIM line and data roaming there; the days count from that first connection in Japan.
eSIM for Japan
Data on your phone the moment you land in Japan. No account, no app, no shop.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
Umeda's underground and a credit card at the gate
JR Osaka Station and the Umeda stations of Hankyu, Hanshin and three Osaka Metro lines are tied together by a large underground network of passages and shopping streets, and it is easy to surface on the wrong side. Search for the exact station and exit in your route app and follow the line colours rather than the street above.
Osaka Metro, Hankyu, Hanshin, Nankai and Kintetsu accept a contactless credit card tapped at the gate, but JR lines do not, so carry an ICOCA, or the Suica from Tokyo, as well. Tap out with the same card you tapped in with. None of that needs signal; the route search that tells you which company runs the next train does.
USJ, Koyasan and the overnight boat to Busan
Universal Studios Japan is at Universal City on the JR Yumesaki Line. Entry to Super Nintendo World often requires a free timed ticket booked in the official app once you are inside the park, so data matters there more than almost anywhere. Nara, Kobe and Himeji are easy days out by train, and the Kyoto guide covers the trip north-east.
Koyasan, the temple town in the Wakayama mountains, is reached on the Nankai Koya Line from Namba and then a cable car from Gokurakubashi; many visitors sleep in a temple. The Panstar ferry sails overnight from Osaka to Busan: out at sea the Japanese networks fade, and in Korea the Japan pack does not work, so add the South Korea eSIM.
How much data for Osaka
Three or four days in Osaka, with maps through Umeda, food searches in Namba and a day at USJ, fit the 3 GB pack, which runs for 15 days. Osaka as a base for Kyoto, Nara and Kobe, or a week that includes Koyasan, is better on 5 GB for 30 days. Sharing with a companion's phone or filming Dotonbori's lights at night? Take 10 GB.
One Japan eSIM works from Osaka to Hokkaido, so size it for the whole trip; buy it up to 180 days early and install it at home. Run short and you add data to the same eSIM, with nothing to reinstall. The data calculator estimates your use, the Tokyo guide covers the other end of the Shinkansen, and the packs are on the Japan eSIM page.
Can I tap my credit card on the Osaka Metro?
Yes. Osaka Metro takes contactless credit cards at the gates, as do Hankyu, Hanshin, Nankai and Kintetsu. JR lines do not, so carry an IC card such as ICOCA too.
Do I need data inside Universal Studios Japan?
It helps a lot: timed entry to Super Nintendo World is often booked in the official app after you enter. The eSIM gives you the data for it.
Does the eSIM work on the ferry to Busan?
Only while the phone still reaches a Japanese network near the coast. In Busan you need a South Korea eSIM, which you can install at home next to this one.
I land at Kansai Terminal 2. How do I reach the trains?
A free shuttle bus runs from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, where the railway station is. From there the Nankai and JR trains leave for the city.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See eSIMs for Japan