Getting Internet

Last updated: July 2025. Credit to Jason Yang for the information.

There are two main options for home internet when you arrive; wired (fiber) internet or wireless home internet. They each have their pros and cons, so you’ll have to look at each and decide what best fits your needs. In general, wireless home internet (also known as Pocket WiFi) is better for short-term (a year, maybe two) JETs while if you’re looking to stay longer or absolutely need a low-lag connection, wired internet is a better way to go. One thing to keep in mind is that in many cases, signing up through a provider that offers an English-language signup process will cost you more or keep you from benefiting from promotions that may be available if you sign up through other providers that only offer sign up in Japanese.

All prices here include after tax. Prices are subject to change so confirm with the provider’s website.

Wireless Home Internet

This is the most flexible option, as contracts (if there are any) are typically shorter, setup costs are much lower, and if you go with a Pocket WiFi unit, you can take it with you to your school(s) and/or out and about, allowing you to use less data on your phone plan. As with phone service, confirm with your predecessor or other JETs in your area to make sure coverage is good before you sign up. Also, just like your phone signal, be aware that service is sometimes less stable than fiber.

This is the easiest in terms of set-up:

0. (Optional) Buy a Pocket WiFi or home router from a secondhand shop, or get one from your predecessor.
1. Go to the store with your residence card and a bank card or your bank details.
2. Fill out the paperwork as directed.
3. Leave the store with working Pocket WiFi or home router.
4. Plug in at home.
5. Internet!

Providers usually require card payment to get a Pocket WiFi or home WiFi device. If you don’t have a credit or debit card (international cards are OK for Rakuten and UQ, Japan cards only for docomo) and you want to pay for your internet from your bank account, you’ll have to buy a Pocket WiFi device from elsewhere and sign up without a device. All providers listed here will allow you to bring your own, if you find another provider not on this list they may require you to purchase theirs.

Pocket WiFi or home WiFi?

There are two types of wireless home internet devices. A Pocket WiFi is about the size of a smartphone, and may or may not come with a dock that you can plug into a router for devices that need an Ethernet port. The biggest upside is that you can take it with you when you go to work or when you’re out and about. Their main downside is that because of their smaller size, the signal doesn’t go as far and they can’t connect as many devices at once (typically the limit is 5 or 10). This is fine up to a typical 1LDK size apartment if you’re alone, but in a larger apartment or if you’re planning on sharing a connection with neighbors, you’ll want a home router instead.

A home WiFi router is a larger device, meant to be plugged in at home. It doesn’t have a battery, so it can’t be taken out and about. These have Ethernet ports built-in for any devices that need them, can broadcast a WiFi signal strong enough to cover all corners of even the largest teacher housing (or if in smaller apartments, even with neighbors), and can connect over 10 devices at a time. The main downsides are that without a built-in battery, you’ll lose service if there’s a power outage, and they aren’t portable.

BEWARE: The big phone carriers have their own wireless home internet plans, and advertise no minimum contract period. HOWEVER, they (except docomo, see more below) require you to buy new routers on installments, meaning if you leave early, you’ll have to pay the remaining payments for the router. Additionally, the SIM card slots on the SoftBank (not listed due to poor value proposition) and Rakuten’s home routers are locked to a specific contract, meaning that you can’t reactivate them after you’re done with them.

For example, if you sign up for docomo home 5G and take the “free router”, you’re actually getting a credit for the router’s installment payments over 36 months. The current HR02 router is ¥73,000 upfront, or split into 36 months, about 2100 a month. If you sign up and then leave after 1 year, you’ve only gotten 1 year’s worth of credits, so you’ll immediately be billed the remaining 48000 when you cancel. A used one, meanwhile, will run you only about ¥10,000 upfront, and you won’t have any remaining obligations when you cancel.

Want to have it both ways?

If you need to swap between the two, you can sign up for a Pocket WiFi service, then buy a secondhand home router from a secondhand shop, Mercari, or Yahoo Auctions, then swap the SIM card back and forth as needed. The Speed WiFi Home L11/L12/L13 and docomo HR01/HR02 will work with all providers listed below. If you sign up in the reverse order (sign up for a home router, get a Pocket WiFi later), you could end up stuck in a multi-year contract or with service geo-restricted to your home address.

Rakuten Mobile Pocket WiFi

URL: https://network.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/
Monthly fee: ¥3,278 (after tax)
Setup fee: ¥1 (new Pocket WiFi)
Contract term: 1 month

If Rakuten has decent coverage and speeds in your area, this is a good first choice to consider. Because of the near-zero startup costs and the very low minimum contract period, it’s a great way to get started quickly. Any Rakuten Mobile store will be able to get you set up same day with just your residence card and a credit or debit card (a card from your home country will work too), or if you prefer and your name isn’t too complicated, you can get set up online (can be set up in English). As with their phone service, if you take your Pocket WiFi out of the country, you’ll get 2GB of data to use abroad every month. If you get a referral code, the offer can’t be combined with the ¥1 Pocket WiFi, so you’ll need to consider the cost of getting your own Pocket WiFi against the point bonus. The discount is credited immediately, so even if you leave early, you won’t owe anything for the Pocket WiFi itself.

CAUTION: Make sure you’re signing up for the Pocket WiFi and NOT a home WiFi router. The home WiFi has a 4 YEAR commitment period. If you need a home WiFi router, sign up for the Rakuten Pocket WiFi, then buy a second-hand home router and swap the SIM cards in and out as desired. Alternatively, you can use a regular router and a dockable Pocket WiFi with an Ethernet port, like the Speed WiFi Dock 5G or the Speed WiFi NEXT 5G X12.

UQ WiMax

URL: https://uqwimax.jp
Monthly fee:
– ¥6,435 discounted to ¥5,753 for first 13 months (Netflix-included plan)
– ¥4,268 discounted to ¥3,880 for first 13 months (basic plan)
Setup fee: ¥3,300 activation fee + cost of Pocket WiFi or home WiFi (¥1 for older models, ¥6,000 for newer models)
Contract term: 1 month for service AND for device

UQ is a secondary brand of au, and has their own Pocket WiFi based internet service. They’re the next step up from Rakuten, and have a somewhat wider network. While they do charge an activation fee, they also have no minimum contract term, making them a good option for short-term JETs or anyone who doesn’t know how long they’ll be in the country. Depending on where you sign up, you may be able to get help in English with the sign up process, but most things after that will be in Japanese. Make sure to have a credit or debit card ready, or your bank info for pre-authorized debit (if you do this, you’ll have to buy your own device from elsewhere). They have a “set discount”, where you’ll get ¥1,100 a month off of a UQ or au phone plan as long as you have this Pocket WiFi service active (so for example, the UQ Toku-Toku plan drops to around ¥1,900 a month for 5GB or ¥3000 a month for 30GB and the au Unlimited plan with Starlink becomes ¥6,400), so take this into consideration when signing up. One important thing to note here is that the UQ device discount is applied immediately, so if you only stay for a year or you need to break contract, you won’t be surprised with any additional costs.

docomo Home 5G

URL: https://www.docomo.ne.jp/home_5g
Monthly fee: ¥5,280
Setup fee: ¥3,850 activation fee in store (fee is waived if completed online) plus cost of HR02 router (if staying less than 3 years)
Contract term: 1 month for service, 36 months if getting a router from docomo

docomo has their own home 5G service, however it has its downsides. The thing to keep in mind with docomo is that while bringing your own router to sign up with (持ち込み契約, “mochikomi keiyaku”) isn’t officially allowed, unofficially, some store staff are willing to let you do so if you bring in a docomo HR01 or HR02 router. The gamble is that you may buy the router yourself only to be denied at the store. It’s not an issue in the cities; if one store says no, try another, but if you’re in a rural placement and the only store in your area says no, you may be stuck. In addition, docomo doesn’t allow you to use the SIM card outside of the general area of the registered address (they’ll disable your SIM card if you turn it on outside that), so you won’t be able to put the SIM card in a Pocket WiFi and take it to your schools or out and about. Despite these downsides, there is an upside; you can get a ¥1,100 monthly discount on most docomo plans (except ahamo). If the circumstances line up, this may be the best option for you.

Fiber Optic

Fiber Optic, called “hikari kaisen” (光回線) in Japanese, is the faster of the two. There’s almost no lag when gaming and it’s very stable. There are a few downsides, such as not being available in some areas, and if your apartment is an older building you may need the permission of your landlord to have construction work done to make your building fiber optic-ready. Sometimes, even if your building is wired up, it’s only wired for one network, and your preferred provider may need to run their own wires (if your building is wired for eo and you want to use an NTT-based provider, or the reverse, for instance). In addition, many providers will offer to rent you a home router. Buying a secondhand router is generally a better deal, as they can be found for less than ¥2,000 used while you’ll end up paying ¥500-700 a month to rent one. Just make sure you get a DS-Lite capable model (Google the model number with “DS-Lite” to check). Additionally, internet providers charge differently for apartment buildings and individual houses, but if your building only has a few units you may be charged the “house” rate even if you live in an apartment. On the flip side to all this, you may end up in a building that’s pre-wired for internet, and you won’t even have to look for a provider at all, just connect to the provided Wi-Fi network. If you need to find and set up your own service, however, you’ve come to the right place.

One important point to take into consideration when looking for a provider is that fiber internet used to be (and if you want to, can still be) sold in two parts- infrastructure (回線, “kaisen”), the line between your home and the local fiber network, and upstream provider (接続サービス, “setsuzoku service”), which routes your connection between the local network and the wider internet. These days, most companies you see advertising service will sell the two bundled together, so you’ll have a single point of contact for any issues that arise. This section will focus on those companies, and sticking to companies that either have very short or no commitment periods or offer benefits that justify a longer commitment period.

The setup process is a bit more involved:

0. Check your apartment for existing wiring or WiFi network. If there’s already a fiber box, note the provider name.
1. Decide on a provider below. If your apartment isn’t wired for the provider you want to use, tell your BOE and/or landlord you want to set up fiber and get permission to run the conduit.
2. Sign up online. You may need to upload a copy of your residence card, as well as provide your bank or card info. If you want to rent a WiFi router, tell them, if you have one from your predecessor or buy one from a secondhand shop you can use that.
3. Receive a call from the provider confirming your info and scheduling a setup time. If your building already has wiring for the provider you’re signing up for, this is the time to tell them; you may get a discount on the install fee if they don’t have to run a new conduit.
4. Someone from the provider will come and set up the ONU (optical network unit).
5. Use an ethernet cable to plug the ONU into your WiFi router.
6. Internet!

You may face a wait of a month or more from online signup to installation, so you may want a Pocket WiFi service to use in the meantime, in which case see the wireless section above.

Internet Service Providers

First off, if you need to do everything from start to finish in English, Sakura Mobile does home internet but at an extra cost.

Sakura Mobile

URL: https://www.sakuramobile.jp/monthly/home-internet/
Setup cost: ¥5,500 + ¥25,300 installation fee (internet only) or ¥110 + ¥13,200 installation fee (with phone plan)
Monthly fee: ¥7,128 (1Gbps) or ¥9,878(10Gbps)

Sakura Mobile is advertised fairly heavily by the JET Program(me), with desks at orientation to help sign you up for service. They use NTT lines so they can sort you out at pretty much any building. However, you will be paying quite a bit extra monthly for the privilege of having support in English, as you’ll see comparing the prices to the providers below that don’t have English support. Additionally, the install fee is paid upfront, not broken into installments, which can be a shock when starting out. Even the promotion doesn’t completely credit back the fee, and it requires you to sign up to (and be using) the more expensive Sakura Mobile phone service when you sign up with them. The upside to this, though, is no commitment period- you can cancel service whenever you want.

If you can handle some Japanese or have someone with you to help get set up, however, you can save significantly.

Excite BB

URL: https://bb.excite.co.jp
Setup cost: Free (¥3,300 weekend install fee for 1Gbps, weekend install free for 10Gbps)
Monthly fee:
– ¥4,790 a month for unlimited 10Gbps (if supported)
– ¥3,850/¥4,950 (apartment/house) a month for unlimited 1Gbps
Check website for usage-based rates
Minimum commitment: 1 month

Excite is is one of the most flexible and straightforward fiber providers on the market, but signup is online only. As long as you can handle that, there’s no activation fee, no install fee, and if you cancel within two months you get your monthly fees back. If you’re only here for a year but you need the speed and stability of wired internet, this is the way to go. They use NTT lines to provide their service, so any building that can receive NTT fiber service is compatible. They offer usage-based and unlimited options; usage-based is cheaper for less than 200GB/month while unlimited is a better deal above that. Be aware that you may need to cancel and re-activate service to switch between the two, so if you’re not completely sure you’ll be better off with usage-based, just sign up for unlimited. However, part of the reason they’re so cheap and flexible is that their only promos are the free install and activation, and they don’t participate in any carrier bundle discounts for phone service.

NURO

URL: https://www.nuro.jp
Setup cost: ¥3,300 activation fee (installation fee of ¥44,000 split across the period of contract)
Monthly fee: ¥2,980 a month for apartment (first month free) or ¥3,980 for house (any speed) for 4 years if you’re less than 30 years old at signup, otherwise:
– ¥4,400 a month for apartment (first month free)/¥5,700 a month for house 10Gbps service
– ¥3,850 a month for apartment (first month free)/¥5,200 a month for house 2Gbps service
Minimum commitment: 24 months (apartment) or 36 months (house)
Termination fee:
– ¥3,850 for 2Gbps 3 year contract
– ¥3,740 for 2Gbps 2 year contract
– ¥4,400 for 10Gbps 3 year contract
plus any outstanding installation fee costs

Sony’s fiber internet service is also an option if available in your area. They’re also online-only so you can’t sign up at a store. Their most easily applicable promo is the U29 promo. As long as you’re under 30 years old on the day you sign up for service, you can lock in a discounted price for 3 (apartment) or 4 (house) years that beats the other providers, but at the cost of having to commit for 2 (apartment) or 3 (house) years. Sometimes they have a similar promo that applies to everyone, but only for 2 (apartment) or 3 (house) years. Additionally, the contract for house service automatically renews two months after it ends, meaning the ¥3,850 termination fee applies from there on for another three years. On the month the contract ends or the month after, you need to tell them you want to change to month to month (which will increase the monthly fee by ¥300). This doesn’t apply to apartments. There’s also sometimes a cash bonus that you can claim if you sign up and stay at least a year, as well as if you sign up for their own phone service NURO Mobile (35GB for ¥2,700 a month on docomo, au, or SoftBank will get you at least ¥10,000 back if you sign up and stay a year).

eo Hikari

URL: http://eonet.jp/
Setup cost: ¥3,300 activation fee, install fee credited back over 24 months (+¥3,300 if weekend install requested)
Monthly fee:
Apartment service varies by building (need to input address)
House service:
– ¥500 a month for 1 year, then ¥5,500 a month for second year for 10Gbps
– ¥2,400 (for months 1-6), ¥2,700 (for months 7-12), ¥7,500 thereafter for 1Gbps+phone+basic TV (set required)
Minimum commitment: 24 months
Termination fee: ¥1,200 times (months remaining in commitment period)

An affordable-ish fiber optic provider with good service. Not bad if you’re reasonably sure you’ll be here two years. They can serve apartment buildings both with their own network and with NTT’s, but if you’re in a house, then they’ll only serve it if they can wire it up themselves or already have. If you’re in a multi-unit building that eo hasn’t wired up and NTT considers a house, eo won’t sign you up at all. They’ve got two gimmicks- the first is that their promos are all heavily front-loaded discounts on service so that you pay a very low monthly fee for the first year or so, then your price jumps. It’s great for the first few months when you’re settling in and need some breathing room in your budget, but you’ll find the price of service spikes by quite a bit afterwards. The second is that their cheapest service is limited to online signup and only in areas they’ve wired up for 10Gbps. If your area doesn’t have 10Gbps service you’ll have to go to a store, and you have to sign up for an internet+home phone+TV bundle. They won’t handle internet-only signups in stores. Because the commitment is in the form of a discounted install fee, you’re free to come and go after 2 years is up.