Pocket wifi or eSIM for Japan?
If you're travelling alone or as a couple, the eSIM wins almost every time: nothing to pick up, charge or return, and you can't leave it behind in the room. The pocket wifi still makes sense when four or more of you travel on one plan, when someone's phone doesn't take eSIM, or when you need your laptop online many hours a day.
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The rental counter is past customs, on the right, and it closes at ten. Your flight lands at nine thirty. Getting through immigration at Narita will take you forty minutes. Plenty of people do that arithmetic sitting on the plane, and it doesn't always come out right.
What each one is
A pocket wifi is a pocket-sized router with its own card and its own battery. You rent it for your travel dates, pick it up at the airport or have it delivered to your hotel, it broadcasts a Wi-Fi network you connect your devices to, and at the end you return it by post or at a counter.
An eSIM is a card you download. There's no object: the phone connects straight to the Japanese network, as if it had a local SIM inside. Nothing to pick up, nothing to charge, nothing to return.
The differences you notice on the trip
| Pocket wifi | eSIM | |
|---|---|---|
| Pick-up | Airport counter or hotel delivery, within opening hours | None: it arrives by email when you buy |
| Return | Drop-box or counter before you fly | None: it expires on its own |
| Battery | One more device to charge every night | Your phone's |
| If you leave it at the hotel | You're offline all day | Can't happen |
| Several devices | Yes, that's its strong suit | Yes, sharing from the phone's hotspot |
| Deposit or penalty | Usual if it's lost or damaged | No device to lose |
| Price | Per day and per device, depending on the provider | From 2,90 € for 7 days with 1 GB |
We don't quote pocket wifi prices because they change by provider, by season and by number of days, and a made-up number here helps nobody. The comparison you can make is simple: look up the rental total for your dates, add the deposit if there is one, and set it against the plan above.
When the pocket wifi makes sense
- There are four or more of you and one shared plan is enough.
- Someone in the group has an older phone that doesn't take eSIM.
- You'll be working on a laptop for hours and would rather not drain your phone's battery playing router.
- You don't mind the errand and you've already got the habit from other trips.
When the eSIM makes sense
- You're travelling alone or as a couple.
- Your flight lands late, or you're leaving the airport in a hurry.
- You'll split up on some days: each phone with its own eSIM goes its own way, a pocket wifi only goes with whoever carries it.
- You don't want one more device to charge, or to remember to return it on the last day — the day you remember everything except that.
The case that decides it for most people is splitting up. A pocket wifi is a single connection on legs: if one of you heads to Nara and the other stays in Osaka, somebody ends up offline.
Does a pocket wifi get better coverage than an eSIM?
Not by virtue of being a pocket wifi. Coverage depends on the Japanese operator behind it, not on the format. The Japan plans run on NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile, KDDI/au and SoftBank, which are the country's four operators.
How much battery does using the phone as a hotspot burn?
Quite a lot: it's the biggest drain after video. If you'll be sharing your connection several hours a day, carry a power bank. It's the same thing you'd need to charge the pocket wifi, except it works for your phone too.
Can I use both?
Yes, and some people do: eSIM on the phone to move around town unencumbered, and pocket wifi for the laptop at the hotel. It's the expensive option, but for a work trip it makes sense.
What if I lose the pocket wifi?
Depends on the rental contract, but a penalty for the device is the norm. Read that clause before signing: it tends to be the most expensive fine print in the rental.
Something off, or a price changed? Write to ayuda@zasesim.com and we'll fix it. Data when you land.