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I'm looking to pick up a prepaid SIM with both voice and data at Haneda Airport soon. Do I understand correctly that my only choice, meaning offers data, voice & has a booth at Haneda, is Softbank? Per the Japanese page, they offer a SIM with 700MB valid for 7 days at ¥2916.

The official Haneda page lists a bunch of others, but none seem to offer prepaids. (Except GSM Rentafone, but they only offer the same Softbank SIM.)

Update: Also open to meaningfully cheaper off-airport options (hotel delivery etc). Nano SIM, two weeks, at least 1 GB data but preferably more and/or the ability to top up.

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  • Oh wow - the English language version just says it's a flat data plan, and doesn't mention the 700 MB limit. I thought it meant unlimited data!
    – Golden Cuy
    Commented Jul 10, 2016 at 2:37

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The answer is no, Softbank doesn't have a monopoly. Telecom Square, literally the next shop over on Haneda's international arrivals floor, also sells voice & data prepaid SIMs on the Y!Mobile network, which is actually a Softbank subsidiary. The baseline price is higher but gets you more data, at ¥5500 for 1GB or ¥7500 for 3GB, plus unlimited local calls, valid for exactly 15 days.

Some rather bizarre catches:

  • You can't top up, period. If you run out of data or time, too bad, buy a new SIM.
  • Incoming international calls work fine (and are free), but you can only make outgoing calls with the included Brastel calling card (or your favorite VOIP app).
  • No outgoing or incoming international SMS. Ouch!

I bought one anyway and, except for that annoying SMS thing, it worked just fine. Coverage and speed was decent too, even in the back blocks of Hokkaido.

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  • If you want to stay a little further from Haneda Airport, there are a lot more options available. It seems somewhat restrictive to only attempt purchase of a sim card at the airport.
    – The Wandering Coder
    Commented Jul 26, 2016 at 0:50
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    @TheWanderingCoder I very much prefer to have a local SIM and thus transit/map info available before I go wandering the streets of Tokyo in search of my hotel/Airbnb/etc.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jul 26, 2016 at 5:46
  • It seems to be a personal Price / Convenience choice then. I much prefer cheaper options than the limited few at the airport and various offline map apps are available if you have an iDevice or Android to navigate you to said purchase location before you start looking for accommodation.
    – The Wandering Coder
    Commented Jul 26, 2016 at 6:38
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    @TheWanderingCoder Feel free to add an answer if you're aware of significantly cheaper non-airport options, since I'm not. (And note that I'm specifically looking for SIMs with a local number, not just data.)
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Jul 26, 2016 at 10:27
  • @jptokal Are you able to specify the phone it is for (specifically the Sim size) and the use in either days or minutes / data size? Also, your question specifically asked for them having a booth at Haneda which I am almost positive most of the other options don't. However there are more options at Haneda than the options you provided so I will write an answer after I confirm with the respective shops tonight.
    – The Wandering Coder
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 0:48

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