Should You Rent a Mobile Wi-Fi?

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(Here’s a fun fact: Wi-Fi is a registered trademark. That means it has a correct spelling. If you spell it Wifi, WiFi, or wifi, you are wrong. That includes today’s sponsor. Now, onto the post.)

When you travel, it’s easy to get lost. Thankfully, you’ve got a phone in your pocket with access to map apps that can point you toward a destination, apps that can hail you a car, or payment apps to help you send money to the person mugging you.

But wait: your phone only works in America (or wherever you’re from). So how can you use the Internet (fun fact: Internet should be capitalized, and anyone who disagrees is, like, a jerk) while in Japan or anywhere else in the world? Today we’ll explore a couple options, what we do when we travel, and what we recommend for travelers to Japan.

The best phone company for international travel

While many hotels have free Wi-Fi, as do some coffee shops, restaurants, and malls, you’re bound to find yourself somewhere that doesn’t when you need to use your phone’s Internet. This is especially true in Japan, where visitors from Europe may be disappointed at how many restaurants/cafes/bars don’t offer free Wi-Fi.

A decade ago, I had a phone that I couldn’t use internationally, and traveling in Europe got tough. The Apple Maps blue dot still shows up when you open the app, even if you aren’t connected to the web, so I’d load the map while on a hostel’s Wi-Fi and then use the blue dot while out.

The problem was that sometimes the blue dot wouldn’t be accurate or the map wouldn’t load correctly, like when I wandered around Venice for an hour looking for a building that the map said was right there but turned out to be on another island. Or the time I trudged through Paris because the dot said I was moving east when I was actually moving west. I swore I’d never go through that again, which is why before I went on my next trip, I signed up for T-Mobile.

My T-Mobile plan gives me free texts and Internet in over 100 countries, as well as calls at $0.25 a minute if you need such a thing. My next trip to Europe was much easier, as was the next one and the next one. I still have a US phone while living in Japan, and I never have to pay extra for using data no matter where I go (well, almost - I had to turn on Airplane mode in Serbia and Croatia in 2014 as those countries weren’t included at the time).

Looking at the plans T-Mobile has now, they vary in terms of how much high-speed data you get in certain countries, but offer up to 215+ countries with basic data and free texting. That’s pretty incredible. And if need be, you can purchase an international pass that grants unlimited calling and more high-speed data. Given that WhatsApp and FaceTime exist, I’m not sure why one would need unlimited calling, but if you do, $50 for a month isn’t a bad deal.

The one problem with using T-Mobile internationally is the Internet is a bit slow, and sometimes doesn’t load when I need it to - I’ve had to duck into coffee shops to use their Wi-Fi when my wife and I couldn’t find each other to meet up. That could be a reason to upgrade to a plan that offers high-speed data, though you should check the lists of countries to be sure the plan you’re getting applies to the locations you wish to visit.

My T-Mobile plan also doesn’t apply to my Japanese phone (or my wife’s), which I wanted to use while on our trip to Thailand. That’s why we rented a mobile Wi-Fi, a handy device my wife and I always use on our travels.

Mobile Wi-Fi

A mobile Wi-Fi is a small device about the size of your cell phone that allows you to connect to the Internet wherever you are. You can rent it by the day and choose between unlimited or data-capped plans. Charges also vary based on which countries you plan to use it in. We found the prices to be very reasonable, so we chose the unlimited plan for our trip to Thailand.

You pick up your mobile Wi-Fi at a kiosk at the airport and return it when you go home. It comes with a charger that has extra ports so you can charge your phone and mobile Wi-Fi at the same time. We find that we’ve always got a use for this thing, whether it’s hailing cars using Grab in Bangkok, ordering from Uber Eats in Paris when football is on, or just trying to find our way around the backstreets of Florence. For us, it’s more than worth it. You may find that a T-Mobile plan is enough for you, but we plan on getting a mobile Wi-Fi every trip we take because it’s so cheap, there’ s no reason not to.

Getting a mobile Wi-Fi in Japan from JR Pass

As luck would have it, our little ol’ blog has an arrangement with JR Pass for those traveling to Japan. By clicking the link below, you can rent a mobile Wi-Fi during your time in Japan, and we’ll get a commission!

JR Pass, which also supplies travelers with rail passes that can bring you big savings, has Pocket WiFi, which can be ordered along with a rail pass or on its own. You can use unlimited data on up to five devices, making this a great choice for those who won’t be staying at hotels with free Internet. You can connect your phone, laptop, iPad, and Kindle to the same Pocket WiFi and use them all on the go (especially useful if you’re taking long train rides across Japan). Note that it says you get 5GB of high-speed data - after that, it will be a bit slower, so if you do have access to hotel Wi-Fi, you should use it when at the hotel.

JR Pass’s Pocket WiFi is inexpensive (the ten-day plan is only $5 a day), can be picked up and returned at KIX, HND, or NRT, and comes with insurance so you won’t have to pay to replace it if it’s stolen or damaged. It’s a pretty good deal, so we recommend checking them out.

Try Pocket WiFi from JR Pass (our affiliate link)

Not everyone needs a mobile Wi-Fi, and your choice will likely depend on where you’re going, what you plan to do, how many people you have with you, and how many devices you use. But for us, being able to connect everyone’s phone to the Internet whenever we want is well worth the price. Do yourself a favor and consider a mobile Wi-Fi so you can find your way out after you get hopelessly lost in Shinjuku. Trust me: you’re going to get lost in Shinjuku. You just will.