Jio, Airtel & Vi roaming in Japan vs a travel eSIM bought in India

Get an eSIM for Japan — from ≈ ₹190arrow_forward

Short answer: Japan roaming packs from Jio, Airtel and Vi

Which Indian SIM works in Japan? All three, once roaming is on; the pack decides the data. For one week, Airtel’s ₹1,298 prepaid pack gives the lowest price per GB, about ₹216. For two weeks, Jio’s ₹1,551 pack leads at about ₹194. Vi prepaid is capped in Japan, while Vi’s postpaid table, not confirmed current, lists it in its FREE-data set. Prices as listed on 13 Oct 2026.

Choose a pack if calls on your Indian number matter. A Japan eSIM from India suits a trip of maps, train apps and messaging, and carries data only. Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad.

The Ministry of Tourism counts 248,168 departures from India to Japan in 2025 and 181,029 in 2024, about 37% more (our calculation). Of the 2025 departures, 83.03% were for leisure or business.

We sell travel eSIMs, so we have an interest here. The table still shows when your operator pack is the better choice.

Jio international roaming plans that cover Japan

Japan appears on four Jio lists, so Jio international roaming plans for Japan come in several sizes. The seven rows below run from ₹599 to ₹5,999 as listed on 13 Oct 2026; only the ₹599 data pack has no minutes. Prepaid and postpaid customers get the same packs.

eSIM Go is not affiliated with Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL. Pack details are taken from their own pages on the date shown.

These seven are a selection. For one week, Jio’s lowest-priced option is the ₹599 data pack with no calls; with calls, ₹951 buys 4 GB over 10 days. Jio adds a network rule: “The pack benefits are applicable only on the preferred partner network in the visited country, if any other partner is chosen then standard rates will be applicable.” On pack validity, Jio says: “Your plan validity begins only with your first usage—call, text, or data.”

Airtel and Vi packs for Japan, and why Vi prepaid is not unlimited there (table)

The Airtel IR pack Japan-bound travellers buy comes from one set for every country Airtel lists, priced in the T&C dated 24 Sep 2026. Vi roaming Japan rows come from Budget Set 1 and the non-UL zone, which caps Ultra data. The eight rows cost ₹995 to ₹5,195, including one Airtel postpaid pack.

Vi’s Ultra packs carry unlimited data only in its “UL” zone of 40 countries, and Japan is not in it: prepaid Ultra gives 2 GB for 7 days or 5 GB for 14. Vi postpaid is different. Its postpaid table puts Japan in Set 1, where Vi prints data as FREE on packs such as ₹3,649 for 7 days and ₹4,999 for 14 days. We could not confirm that this country table is current, so check Japan in the Vi app first. Vi’s ₹756 voice-only pack is not sold for Japan.

Airtel’s own FAQ page still shows ₹898 and ₹1,198; the T&C dated 24 Sep 2026 list ₹998 and ₹1,298. The postpaid ₹3,999 pack appears in both Airtel circle lists, Maharashtra and the rest of India. Vi states that its IR packs are “not applicable for customers in J&K, Assam and North East”.

Cost per GB for a 7-day and a 14-day Japan trip

The test: for each operator, take the shortest pack that lasts the whole trip and rank by price per GB, leaving out Vi’s FREE-data rows (Vi prepaid has none for Japan). Each figure is our division of price by data, from prices listed on 13 Oct 2026.

For 7 days, Airtel’s ₹1,298 prepaid pack ranks first at about ₹216 per GB (about ₹185 a day). Jio’s shortest pack for the week is the ₹599 data pack at about ₹599 per GB, with no calls; Jio’s ₹951 pack with calls comes to about ₹238. Vi’s ₹3,495 Ultra pack ranks last at about ₹1,748.

For 14 days, Jio’s ₹1,551 pack ranks first at about ₹194 per GB, ₹111 a day. Airtel has no 14-day prepaid pack; the shortest that lasts is ₹2,998, about ₹300 per GB. Vi’s ₹5,195 Ultra pack comes to about ₹1,039.

Our Japan plans run on SoftBank and KDDI 5G, with service nationwide from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and carry data only, with no calls and no SMS. In our catalogue on 12 Oct 2026 the smallest plan is 500 MB for 7 days. 1 GB over 7 days costs ≈ ₹286 (12 Oct rate), 2 GB over 15 days costs ≈ ₹622 (12 Oct rate), and 5 GB over 30 days costs ≈ ₹909 (12 Oct rate), about ₹182 (US$1.90) per GB, charged US$9.49 by card. Your card is charged in US dollars. Your bank converts the amount at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction (forex markup) fee. How card payments work.

On Android the APN goes in by hand; on iPhone it is set automatically. Plan days start at the first connection to a Japanese network. Every plan is on the Japan eSIM page; the Japan SIM card guide covers local SIMs, and the Asia eSIM covers several countries.

Long trips: 30-day Jio and Airtel packs vs a 30-day plan

Over a month, set each pack against a plan with similar data. Jio’s ₹3,999 pack (20 GB) and ₹5,999 pack (30 GB) both come to about ₹200 per GB, and ₹2,851 (12 GB) to about ₹238. Airtel’s prepaid ₹2,998 (10 GB) is about ₹300, its postpaid ₹3,999 (30 GB high-speed) about ₹133. Vi’s prepaid Budget ₹2,998 (5 GB) is about ₹600.

Vi postpaid also lists a ₹3,999 pack with 30 GB for 30 days in both of its sets, about ₹133 per GB; the same caveat about its country table applies.

Our 10 GB plan for 30 days costs ≈ ₹957 (12 Oct rate), about ₹96 (US$1.00) per GB. The 20 GB plan costs ≈ ₹1,915 (12 Oct rate), about ₹96 (US$1.00) per GB, charged US$19.99 by card. Set the 10 GB plan against Airtel’s ₹2,998 or Jio’s ₹2,851, and the 20 GB plan against Jio’s ₹3,999, using the rupee figure shown on the day you buy. That is the fair test of an eSIM for Japan from India. A pocket WiFi rental is a third option, which we do not price.

Identity is checked before a local line is issued. A physical Japan SIM card also needs a free slot in your phone. Bank OTPs reach your Indian number as SMS, never the data-only eSIM. Keep the Indian SIM in as a second line with data off and ask your operator whether texts arrive in Japan on your plan; see keep Indian number for OTP.

Full refund within 30 days of purchase, as long as the eSIM has not connected to any network. If the eSIM doesn’t work and it isn’t your phone’s fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.

How we checked these prices

Every row shows the checked on date; we read it in the operator’s own document: Jio’s plan list, Airtel’s T&C PDF dated 24 Sep 2026, and Vi’s prepaid and postpaid T&C PDFs. Per-GB figures divide price by GB, rounded. Our international roaming Japan coverage comes from the operators’ country lists: Jio’s 100-country, 75-country, World Pack and data-pack lists, Airtel’s single list, Vi’s non-UL and Budget Set 1 prepaid lists and postpaid Set 1.

Vi’s prepaid country lists are an image, transcribed by hand on our side, so confirm Japan in the Vi app before you pay. A side-by-side of the three operators is in Jio vs Airtel vs Vi.

Updated on 13 Oct 2026: first version. Written and reviewed by Nadezhda Semenova; see the editorial policy. Operator pages: Jio, Airtel, Vi; all countries: international roaming.

FAQ

Get an eSIM for Japan, from ≈ ₹190 Pay by card in US$. Your bank converts the US$ charge at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction fee. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by e-mail after payment. See plans