Want to share with your friends all the yummy sushi and anime goodies while travelling Japan? Stay connected with a pocket wifi or data sim from Sakura Mobile!
Please see here for our review on Sakura Mobile’s data sim!
About Sakura Mobile
Website: https://www.sakuramobile.jp/
Sakura Mobile offers various product for connectivity in Japan, including sim card, pocket WiFi.
Data Sim Card: starting at 3,500 yen for 3gb
Pocket WiFi: Various options available, see pricing
They also offer competitive and reasonable priced products for both short term visitors (less than 90 days) and long term (more than 90 days)! Their long-term plan are very competitive and do not require 2 year contracts at other carriers such as Softbank.
Price for short-term plan: https://www.sakuramobile.jp/pricing/
Long-term plan (> 90 days) price: https://www.sakuramobile.jp/long-term-plans/
Pocket Wi-Fi Setup
Setting up the pocket WiFi is easy, just turn on WiFi setting on your phone, type in the WiFi password that is located on the back of the Sakura Mobile pocket WiFi, and you are good to go. The battery life on the pocket WiFi is very good. We usually charge the pocket WiFi overnight and the battery can last for the whole day!
One thing to note though as the phone is connected through WiFi, the phone may automatically download updates or run other background process that will consume data. This can especially be an issue if use plan with limited data allowance. To prevent this you can turn off wifi on your phone while you are not using it, so it won’t run background process and waste your precious data.
Speed Test
Sakura Mobile uses NTT docomo network for data sim and Softbank for pocket WiFi, which are both Japan’s widest and most reliable 4G LTE Networks. There is coverage across Japan, from northern Hokkaido to southern Okinawa! We ran several speed test around various part of Japan in both Kyushu and Tokyo!.
Data sim on LTE is very speedy and gives download of around 25 Mbps and upload of 15 Mbps. Pocket WiFi is even faster with download of 38 Mbps and upload of 21 Mbps! Both are fast enough for live video streaming, Instagram Stories, YouTube, gaming, and catching up with all the social medias! Also very impressive is that we got similar speed no matter where we tested in Tokyo, from the busy Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, the relaxing Yufuin onsen area in Kyushu, and live streaming Kumamon in Kumamoto!
Return
After 2 weeks around different parts of Japan, sadly our trip finally came to an end. Returning Sakura Mobile’s Pocket WiFi and data sim is easy, just put everything inside the prepaid envelope, find a mailbox, and you are done! We flew out from Haneda Airport and there is a mailbox on the departure level, right beside the up escalator for shops and restaurants. The mailbox is cutely decorated with airplane!
Pocket WiFi or Data Sim?
Choosing Sakura Mobile’s Pocket WiFi or Data sim is a matter of personal preference as both are convenient and speedy products. If you are travelling in a group and tend to travel around together, it is probably better to get a Pocket WiFi and just share the data. However, if there are instances where your group will travel separately and would like to stay connected (e.g. texting to find meet up location), then it is probably better to get separate data sim for each users.
Sakura Mobile Review
Overall we were impressed by Sakura Mobile’s performance, convenience, and best of all, their superior customer service. We will definitely use them again when we visit Japan and would recommend to anyone!
Hope you enjoy this review of travel tips blog on Mokolate! In the meantime, be sure to visit my Instagram – Mizzmok for more fashion and lifestyle idea!
Do not use Sakura pocket Wifi. Consistently my maximum speed in Tokyo was 10-15 Mbps. Itâs pathetic. When I complained they said the network gets busy and speeds slow down. My ATT cellphone was 150Mbps. The cost is 50% more. But it is worth it. When I asked the company how to return the Wifi and receive a refund, they did not reply. Caveat emptor
qqDo not use Sakura pocket Wifi. Consistently my maximum speed in Tokyo was 10-15 Mbps. Itâs pathetic. When I complained they said the network gets busy and speeds slow down. My ATT cellphone was 150Mbps. The cost is 50% more. But it is worth it. When I asked the company how to return the Wifi and receive a refund, they did not reply. Caveat emptor