Reliable Pocket Wi-fi

Ifve been reading the posts in this section; but I saw too few threats about this question. Ifm going to Japan next month and Ifm looking for a good provider of pocket wi-fi, regardless the price or where the company is located. I was thinking in using the service of Japan Experience, since I got with them each time (three with this one) my Japan Rail Pass without a problem and always on time, so any good recommendations for my upcoming trip?

I've never heard of an unreliable pocket wifi wifi provider; like SIM card providers they all seem to be basically the same.

I once got a data sim from Japan Experience, and it worked OK. It was Docomo. I was able to use it to turn my phone into a hotspot for our iPads and laptop.

But it turned out I never really used it, other than just to see if it worked, as there is free wi-fi all over the place. Hotels offer it, Starbucks offers it, train stations & airports offer it, and there are city-wide and country-wide tourist and other organizations that offer it -- just Google free wi-fi Japan (or Tokyo) or whatever. Check out the links at the top right of this page.

I just looked at my own pocket wi-fi, and it covers the appropriate Japanese frequencies/bands, so getting a data sim for it, or my phone, would probably work as well as the Japanese pocket wi-fi.

However, if you have determined that you must have a pocket wi-fi, then, as Frias said, likely any source would be sufficient. I don't remember seeing any related horror stores here.

Worst case is you buy/rent a data sim, and if doesn't work, then you can rent a more expensive pocket wi-fi.

I was particularly surprised on the last couple of trips that the Google Home/Voice/Assistant on my Android phone worked great in Japan. Ask it the weather, and it would say, "In [chome], the weather is ..."

Actually there are some that could be unreliable. For example, some pocket wifi devices may not have good speed or they might not have good coverage or they might run out of battery right away. For the battery, of course it depends on your usage but there are some places that have pocket wifi devices that run out of battery right away. But a lot of companies do have an additional battery that they rent out in case you are someone who is a heavy user. In my experience, SoftBank is OK but the not the best.... i've had SLOW internet with them and not the best coverage either. I have some friends who are with SoftBank and other who are with Docomo and my friends who use Docomo say that they have really good coverage. So I never go with places that use SoftBank anymore. So look for a place that provides pocket wifi devices using NTT Docomo.

There are two websites that I often hear of 1. Genki Mobile https://www.genkimobile.com and 2. Pupuru https://pupuruwifi.com

Both use Docomo, both had good reviews, both have English websites and English customer support. Also as a side note I would also recommend booking your portable wifi device ahead of time because it can get expensive if you get a pocket wifi at the airport. Also they may run out of rental devices when you are there. So just to ensure that you'll have a portable wifi and that it will be for a decent price I would recommend looking into booking it beforehand. Plus there are a lot of companies that will send it to the airport so you can pick it up after you've arrived and use it right away. Super convenient!

I've rented from Sakura Mobile twice - had it delivered to my first night hotel and dropped it into a mailbox at the airport before security before I flew home. Connectivity and battery were fine (note: sometimes no connectivity in tunnels). The paperwork is very well written: it clearly describes how to monitor your usage and how to reset the device if it stops working. I picked them the first time because they were not the most expensive or the cheapest and I liked the name and the easy-to-use website.

I rented Sakura wifi device last time and had no problems, you can use it ;)

I'd consider pocket WiFi to be a basic requirement for any holiday in JP, for train info, google maps, various travel apps, translation, quake alerts and e-mail/social networking. It really enhances your holiday.

Always read the small print on any limitations of the plan you are signing up to. Be aware that some pocket WiFi devices have specific limitations - no streaming or a maximum amount of data in 24 hours. If you go over the maximum, you can sometimes persuade the device to cough up some more bandwidth for free just by requesting it, if you can fathom the menus, which might be in 'Engrish'. After the maximum is reached, you may still get a slow connection out of it. In an emergency, turn images off in your browser.

I wouldn't suggest relying on free WiFi. Aside from being a potentially serious security issue, it simply won't be as reliable as you may need it to be, and it can be a lot of hassle registering for multiple services.

Ifve used GlobalAdvancedComm for the last 7 visits to Japan and havenft had any real problems. They are as reliable as any other, considering you canft use any of them on the many tunnels on the Sanyo Shinkansen between Okayama and Hiroshima or similar situations....In the mountainous regions, youfll have difficulty as well....

I second john b diggs, I've used global for both of my japan trips. It's unlimited, very handy to pick up at airport, battery life is very good, connection is very good, easy return, and instructions are clear and easy to follow.

I have used Global Advanced for the past 3 times. Reliable. On my last trip, i forgot to drop off the wifi/envelope into the postbox before the security screening at the airport. By the time i realised it, i was 20 mins to boarding time. So i chatted online with one of the Global representatives, and they said they will considerthe return of the wifi as an extension(bill me until they received the wifi back) instead of a delay (1500Yen/day). So after i reached my home country, i couriered the wifi back. The day they received it(5 days after), they emailed me to say they will waive the extension fee since it was unintentional. so happy

I rented from CDJapan Rental last month.

They have 3 types network.
I rented docomo network Pocket wifi.

Stable and good connection.