How to Get a Japanese Phone Number as a Tourist

To get a Japanese phone number, choose a plan that explicitly includes a Japanese number and the calls or SMS you need. Most Japan travel eSIMs are data-only and do not include one. A listing that mentions calls, texts or a phone number is not enough to establish that it provides a Japanese mobile number or supports local SMS verification.

For many visitors, mobile data for maps, messaging and bookings is enough. This guide helps you decide whether you need a local number, check the right plan details, and keep your home number working alongside a Japan data eSIM. If you only need internet access, start with our Japan eSIM plan comparison and data calculator.

How to choose a plan with a Japanese phone number

Before buying a voice-capable SIM or eSIM, work through these checks:

1. Define what you need. Calling a restaurant, receiving an incoming call and receiving an SMS verification code are separate requirements.
2. Confirm the number is Japanese. A foreign number or an outgoing-call allowance does not necessarily solve a requirement for a local number.
3. Check incoming calls and SMS separately. If you need a specific Japanese service’s verification code, confirm the number and plan are accepted by that service before paying.
4. Read the purchase and activation requirements. Check the provider’s eligibility, any required documents, activation steps and when validity begins. Do not assume a data-only eSIM’s setup rules apply to a voice product.
5. Check your phone and trip length. The device must support the chosen SIM format and carrier arrangement, and the plan must cover your stay.

The provider table below is a starting point for those checks. We do not label a provider as supplying a Japanese number unless the selected plan actually confirms it.

Data-only plans versus plans with a number

A data-only eSIM connects your phone to the internet. You can use WhatsApp, LINE, FaceTime, Google Maps, email and any app that works online. You cannot make an ordinary phone call or receive an SMS on that line, because it has no phone number attached.

A plan with calls or texts adds a number or a calling allowance. That might be a Japanese number, a number from another country, or an allowance that only covers outgoing calls. These are different products, and “calls and texts available” does not always mean a Japanese number. Read exactly what the plan provides before assuming it solves a particular problem.

Most of the plans in our comparisons are data-only, which keeps them simple to buy and install.

Does an app or VoIP number work for Japanese SMS verification?

Do not assume it does. An internet calling app can help you talk to someone over data, but that does not establish that it supplies a Japanese mobile number or receives the SMS codes a particular service requires. Verify support with both the number provider and the service you need to use. Keeping your home number is useful for services that accept that number; it does not turn it into a Japanese number.

Which Japan eSIM providers include a phone number?

The table shows what each provider’s Japan page said about phone numbers when we recorded its plans. We have reproduced each provider’s wording rather than interpreting it.

We’re run by the team behind Wanderly and earn money from Wanderly purchases. Read our full disclosure.

This is what each provider’s Japan page showed when we recorded it. A plan that lists calls or texts may not include a Japanese number, and a number may not receive every verification message. Check the exact package before buying.

In short:

• Wanderly lists its standard plans as data-only, with calls and texts available on select plans. Check the specific plan on Wanderly’s Japan page before buying if calls or texts matter to you.
• Airalo shows no phone number on the data plans we compare.
• Ubigi is data-only on the plans we compare.
• Saily shows no number on the data plans we compare, and separate call and text products may be offered. Check those separately.
• Holafly is data-only, with no Japanese phone number.
• Nomad needs checking for the selected plan; do not assume a Japanese number is included.
• Klook varies by listing, because it is a marketplace. Do not assume calls or SMS are included.

If a plan lists calls or texts, confirm whether the number is Japanese, whether it can receive SMS from Japanese services, and whether incoming calls are included.

Providers that sell visitors a Japanese number

Outside the data-only eSIMs above, two Japan specialists sell visitors an eSIM with a real Japanese number. Both require an identity check, because Japanese law requires one for phone numbers:

• Sakura Mobile sells a Voice + Data travel eSIM as a fixed package with included domestic calling minutes. You collect it at a select airport counter or its Tokyo office and show ID before the plan starts. Read our Sakura Mobile review.
• Mobal sells a voice eSIM priced like a no-contract monthly plan, with calls and SMS charged on top. It posts an access code to the address on your ID or hands it over at a pick-up point in Japan. Read our Mobal review.

Either suits a traveler who genuinely needs a local number for bookings or SMS verification. For an ordinary holiday, the workarounds below usually cost nothing.

What is a Japanese phone number needed for?

Most visitors never need one. A few situations come up often enough to plan for.

Restaurant and activity bookings

Some restaurants, especially smaller ones, take reservations by phone or ask for a local contact number on a booking form. Popular restaurants that use online booking systems may still ask for a phone number in case they need to reach you.

Taxis and deliveries

Taxi dispatch and delivery services may want a number to call if they cannot find you. Some taxi apps let you register with a foreign number; check during sign-up rather than at the curb.

SMS verification

Some Japanese apps and websites send a one-time code by SMS during sign-up, and some only accept Japanese numbers. A data-only eSIM cannot receive those codes. This affects some local services more than international apps, which usually accept your home number.

Workarounds if you do not have a Japanese number

Before paying extra for a number, try the simpler routes.

• Ask your hotel. Front desks and concierges often book restaurants and taxis for guests, and can give the hotel’s number as the contact.
• Use booking platforms with messaging. Many reservation and activity platforms let the venue contact you through the app or by email rather than by phone.
• Give your home number. Many forms accept an international number. If your home line stays active (see below), you can receive calls and texts on it, subject to your carrier’s roaming charges.
• Use internet calling. Messaging and calling apps work over your data eSIM. LINE is widely used in Japan, and some businesses can be reached through it.
• Keep a screenshot ready. For taxis, showing the destination address in Japanese is often quicker than a phone call.

Keeping your home number while using a Japan eSIM

Most phones that support eSIM can run two lines at once. You can keep your home SIM or eSIM active for calls and texts, while the Japan eSIM handles data. This is how most travelers receive bank codes and messages from home while abroad.

How dual SIM works

With dual SIM, you choose which line is used for mobile data and which is the default for calls and texts. Set the Japan eSIM as the mobile data line. Leave your home line switched on if you want to receive calls and SMS on your usual number.

Apple explains the setup in Using Dual SIM with an eSIM, and Google covers Pixel phones in How to use dual SIMs on your Google Pixel phone. Our iPhone setup guide and Android setup guide walk through the Japan-specific steps.

Turn off data roaming on your home line

This is the step that protects you from unexpected charges. If data roaming stays on for your home line, your phone may use it for data, especially while the Japan eSIM is connecting. Turn off data roaming on the home line, and on iPhone switch off the setting that lets the phone change data lines automatically.

Receiving calls and texts on your home line in Japan can still be charged as roaming by your carrier, depending on your plan. Check your carrier’s Japan roaming rates before you travel, or switch the home line off if you only need it occasionally.

Wi-Fi calling

Some carriers let you make and receive calls and texts on your home number over WiFi or another data connection, including abroad. Whether that works in Japan, and whether it is charged, depends on your carrier and your plan. Check your carrier’s support pages for Wi-Fi calling while travelling before relying on it.

Should you pay for a plan with calls or a number?

For a typical holiday, a data-only eSIM plus your home number on dual SIM covers almost everything. Paying for calls or a number makes more sense if:

• you expect to phone Japanese businesses directly and cannot rely on your hotel or a booking platform
• you need to receive SMS codes from a Japanese service that will not accept a foreign number
• your phone does not support dual SIM and you still need some calling ability

Even then, read what the plan includes. A plan with outgoing calls may not receive SMS, and a non-Japanese number may not pass Japanese verification. For stays of several months, a local mobile plan may be a better fit; our guide to Japan eSIM options for 30 days or longer covers when to consider one. If cost is the main question, see how much a Japan eSIM costs.

Phone number questions