Prices checked 4 October 2026
The short answer
Of the three providers we could read on 4 October 2026, Airalo's Moshi Moshi eSIM listed the lowest Japan prices: A$14.50 for 5 GB across 7 days, A$25.50 for 10 GB across 15 days, or A$38.50 for a week of unlimited data, slowed to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day. Simify charges A$29 for 5 GB across 7 days in Australian dollars. Holafly sells unlimited only, at US$27.50 for 7 days. Saily and Travelkon would not load.
At a glance
The cheapest listed option from each provider for a one week trip.
| Provider | Cheapest listed plan for a 7 day trip | Unlimited for 7 days | Hotspot | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | 3 GB, 7 days, A$12.00 | A$38.50 | Yes | AUD |
| Simify | 5 GB, 7 days, A$29 | Priced per day, see full table | Yes | AUD |
| Holafly | Unlimited, 7 days, US$27.50 | US$27.50 | 1 GB a day | USD as shown |
| Saily | not published | not published | not published | not published |
| Travelkon | not published | not published | not published | not published |
The $5 a day pass, or an eSIM?
This is the decision almost nobody makes. The pass is two taps in an app you already have, your number keeps ringing, and there is no second line to manage. On a weekend in Tokyo, worth it.
Telstra's Day Pass is $5 a day in Zone 1 and $10 a day in Zone 2. The $5 version gives 2 GB of data plus unlimited standard calls and SMS, and Telstra's page warns it "can take up to 2 hours to activate, so do it before you fly". Every sum below uses the $5 rate, so check which zone your destination sits in.
Now the arithmetic. The cheapest plan in the table below is Airalo's A$6.00 for 1 GB across 3 days. Divide A$6.00 by $5 a day and the break-even is 1.2 days, so by the end of day two of roaming, at A$10, you have spent more than the whole eSIM. On a realistic week it is not close: seven Day Passes come to A$35, against A$14.50 for Airalo's 5 GB over 7 days. Stretch to a fortnight and A$70 of roaming sits against A$25.50 for 10 GB over 15 days.
The pass does buy something for that money. Two gigabytes a day across a week is 14 GB, almost three times the data on that A$14.50 plan, and it carries calls and texts on your real number. Every eSIM here is data only. The trade is money against convenience.
Five sellers, three sets of prices
Airalo sells a ladder of fixed bundles from 1 GB to 20 GB in Australian dollars, with an unlimited tier above it. Simify is an Australian seller, bills in Australian dollars, starts higher and goes much further, as far as 100 GB across 90 days. Holafly sells unlimited days only, and quoted us in US dollars, which we have left alone rather than converting at a rate that will have moved by the time you check out.
Saily and Travelkon appear in the table without prices. Both sites blocked every request we made on 4 October 2026, and we do not lift figures from other comparison sites, because a date at the top of this page only means something if every number under it came from the provider. The detail is in Sources.
Every Japan plan we could read
Each row was copied from the page linked in the provider's name, on 4 October 2026, in that page's own words and currency. The full price ladders sit behind the "All plans" toggles.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Provider | Plans and prices as listed | Currency | Validity | Data cap or unlimited | Hotspot or tethering | Network partner | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo (Moshi Moshi eSIM)Read 4 Oct 2026 |
All 13 plans
| AUD, as shown on the page | 3, 7, 15 or 30 days (fixed plans); 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 or 30 days (unlimited) | Fixed plans: the GB you buy. Unlimited plans: full speed to 3 GB a day, then 1 Mbps (page wording: "Lower speed rate of 1 Mbps after 3 GB usage per day") | Yes, per Airalo's help centre: "you can use your personal hotspot with your eSIM as long as it is supported by your device and the network" | Softbank and KDDI (listed on the plan page) | 4 October 2026 |
| Simify (Japan eSIM, fixed plans)Read 4 Oct 2026 |
All 7 plans
| AUD, as shown on the page | 7 to 90 days depending on plan; starts when the eSIM first connects in Japan | The GB you buy | Yes (page wording: "Our fixed plans support hotspot and tethering") | not published (page says it "connects automatically to the strongest local network") | 4 October 2026 |
| Simify (Unlimited Japan eSIM)Read 4 Oct 2026 |
| AUD | You pick the number of days; starts when the eSIM first connects in Japan | Unlimited, with a fair use note: speeds "may be temporarily reduced for a short time (typically up to 24 hours)" during very high usage periods | Yes (page wording: "our unlimited plans support hotspot and tethering") | not published | 4 October 2026 |
| Holafly (Japan eSIM)Read 4 Oct 2026 |
All 6 plans
| USD, as the page showed it to us; the page offers other currencies | 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 or 30 days (other day counts selectable on the page) | Unlimited data on the phone | Limited: "Share 1 GB of data per day with fellow travelers" (a 7-day plan includes 7 GB of shareable data) | KDDI / Softbank (listed on the plan page) | 4 October 2026 |
| SailyRead 4 Oct 2026 | not published | not published | not published | not published | not published | not published | 4 October 2026 |
| TravelkonRead 4 Oct 2026 | not published | not published | not published | not published | not published | not published | 4 October 2026 |
What a week in Japan actually costs
Same trip length, same comparison, listed prices only. For reference, seven Telstra Day Passes at $5 a day come to A$35.
| Provider | Plan | Listed price | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo | 5 GB for 7 days | A$14.50 | $2.07 a day |
| Airalo | 10 GB for 7 days | A$25.00 | $3.57 a day |
| Airalo | Unlimited for 7 days | A$38.50 | $5.50 a day |
| Simify | 5 GB for 7 days | A$29 | $4.14 a day |
| Holafly | Unlimited for 7 days | US$27.50 | US$3.93 a day |
| Saily | not published | not published | not published |
| Travelkon | not published | not published | not published |
The per day column is ours, not the provider's: it is the listed price divided by the days that plan runs for, which is the only way plans of different lengths can be set beside each other. Every other figure is the provider's own.
Reading the Japan table
Unlimited has a condition on every plan here. Airalo's Japan page says "Lower speed rate of 1 Mbps after 3 GB usage per day", so the limit resets daily rather than running out for good. Maps, messaging and translation will not get near 3 GB. Streaming on the Shinkansen, or tethering a laptop for an afternoon, will reach it before dinner, and the rest of that day happens at 1 Mbps.
Simify runs one price ladder across all its destinations, so its Japan prices match its Europe and Indonesia prices: A$29 for 5 GB over 7 days, A$49 for 10 GB over 30 days, up to A$219 for 100 GB over 90 days. Its unlimited plan is sold by the day, listed at 5.40 in Australian dollars in the store's product feed.
Holafly's unlimited is unlimited on the phone and metered the moment you share it. Its page offers "1 GB of data per day" to share with fellow travellers, which across a 7 day plan is 7 GB of hotspot for the trip. If yours is the phone the family tethers to, that figure decides more than the headline price.
Networks are worth thirty seconds. Airalo lists Softbank and KDDI on its Japan page, and Holafly lists KDDI and Softbank. Simify's page says the eSIM "connects automatically to the strongest local network" without naming it. In a country covered as thoroughly as Japan that is unlikely to settle anything.
The same thing, drawn
One line is the roaming pass adding up at a fixed rate a day. The other is one eSIM plan bought once. Where they cross is the day the pass starts costing more.
How to set up a travel eSIM before you fly
Do this at home on Wi-Fi, not at the airport. Ten minutes, once. If your provider's install email differs, follow the email.
- Check your phone takes an eSIM and is unlocked. Look for "Add eSIM" or "Add mobile plan" in your mobile settings. Phones bought on a carrier contract can stay locked until that contract ends, and every provider here publishes a compatibility list.
- Install it at home. You get a QR code, an activation code or an app prompt. Installing adds a second line. Label it "Travel".
- Point mobile data at the travel line. Leave your Australian line as the default for calls and SMS, so your number keeps working.
- Data roaming on for the travel line, off for your Australian one. The travel eSIM connects as a roaming line, so it needs roaming on. Switching it off on your home line is what stops your carrier billing you for background data.
- Leave the travel line off until you land. Airalo and Simify both say validity starts when the eSIM first connects at your destination, not when you install it, so installing weeks early costs nothing.
- On landing, give it a minute. The phone has to find a partner network. If nothing appears, toggle flight mode, confirm roaming is on for the travel line, then restart.
Questions people actually ask
Should I install my Japan eSIM before I fly, or when I land?
Before, over home Wi-Fi, because the install step downloads a profile to your phone. Installing early does not waste days: Airalo and Simify both say the validity clock starts when the eSIM first connects to a network in Japan, not when you install it. Confirm that wording on the plan you choose.
Will my Australian number still work in Japan?
Yes, as long as you keep it switched on next to the travel eSIM. The standard setup is the Australian line active for calls and SMS with its data and data roaming off, and the travel eSIM carrying mobile data. Every plan we could read is data only, so you cannot dial out from the eSIM's own number. Use apps such as WhatsApp or LINE instead.
Which Japanese network will my eSIM use?
Airalo's Japan plan page lists Softbank and KDDI. Holafly's lists KDDI and Softbank. Simify's says the eSIM connects to the strongest local network but does not name it. Saily's and Travelkon's pages would not load for us, so we cannot say.
Is unlimited data on a Japan eSIM really unlimited?
Each seller means something different by it. Airalo runs at full speed to 3 GB a day, then 1 Mbps for the rest of it. Holafly says phone data is unlimited but caps hotspot sharing at 1 GB a day. Simify notes speeds "may be temporarily reduced for a short time (typically up to 24 hours)" during very high usage periods.
Can I hotspot my laptop or share with the family?
Airalo's help centre says yes, "as long as it is supported by your device and the network". Simify says both its fixed and unlimited plans support hotspot and tethering. Holafly allows it but meters it at 1 GB of shared data a day.
Sources
Prices checked 4 October 2026. Every figure above was copied from the page linked below on that date, in its own currency. Prices move often, so treat the table as a snapshot and confirm on the provider's page before you buy.
- Airalo (Moshi Moshi eSIM)https://www.airalo.com/japan-esimplan prices, validity and the wording quoted in the table
- Simify (Japan eSIM, fixed plans)https://simify.com/products/jp-esplan prices, validity and the wording quoted in the table
- Simify (Unlimited Japan eSIM)https://simify.com/products/ultd-jp-esplan prices, validity and the wording quoted in the table
- Holafly (Japan eSIM)https://esim.holafly.com/esim-japan/plan prices, validity and the wording quoted in the table
- Sailyhttps://saily.com/esim-japan/page would not load for us on 4 October 2026, see the note below
- Travelkonhttps://www.travelkon.com.au/page would not load for us on 4 October 2026, see the note below
- Airalo hotspot wordinghttps://www.airalo.com/help/using-managing-esims/ZSEEHBT5HW6F/can-i-use-tethering-personal-hotspot/5XTAX1X7HR0B
- Simify unlimited per day pricehttps://simify.com/products.jsonthe store's public product data feed, which listed the unlimited product at 5.40 in the store currency (AUD). The product page itself shows a total only once you choose the number of days.
- Telstra international roaming, for the Day Pass figures used abovehttps://www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming
Saily and Travelkon: every page we requested on saily.com and travelkon.com.au on 4 October 2026 returned a Cloudflare access challenge (HTTP 403) instead of the page, with a desktop browser user agent, a mobile user agent and plain requests alike. We did not copy their prices from third party sites, so every Saily and Travelkon cell reads "not published" until we can read their plan pages directly.