Guide to Google Fi in Japan | Everything You Need to Know!

Have you been thinking about using Google Fi in Japan?

If you are planning on it, that’s great, but Google Fi’s international plans are not for everyone.

There are many restrictions on how it can be used, and if you choose the wrong plan, it could end up being more expensive than you planned.

This article explains the fees, data capacity, and precautions when using Google Fi in Japan. We hope you will find it useful.

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Overview of Google Fi plans in Japan
Google Fi Japan plans coverage
What’s so good about Google Fi Japan?

For travelers, business trips, and short stays
For those staying in Japan 3+ months
For people who use the Unlimited Plus plan in the US

Conclusion

Overview of Google Fi plans in Japan

First up are the price and data limits for Google Fi in Japan.

Google Fi has a total of three plans, but the two available in Japan are the Unlimited Plus and Flexible Plans.

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Plans	Unlimited Plus	Flexible
Monthly fee	$70	$20 + $10/GB
Data cap	50GB	Pay as you go (Up to 15GB)
Text & call	Free texts $0.20/min for calls	Free texts $0.20/min for calls
Coverage	Most areas	Most areas

The Unlimited Plus Plan is a monthly plan that allows you to use 50GB for $70/ month. If you are staying for a longer period of time, you may consider this plan.

On the other hand, the Flexible Plan is a pay-as-you-go plan for short-term stays. The plans are a bit complicated, so check the table below to see how much you will pay depending on the amount of data you use.

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Data amount	Price
1GB	$30
2GB	$40
3GB	$50
4GB	$60
5GB	$70
6 - 15GB	$80

*Price when you make a contract for 1 line

The things you should know about the plan:

There is a $20/month base fee
And a $10 fee is charged per GB used

If you use 1GB, you will be charged a $20 base fee and a $10 usage fee, for a total of $30.

For each gigabyte that you use after 6GB, there is no additional data usage fee, so the bill will remain at $80.

The data usage limit is 15 GB, so once you have used up to 15 GB, your connection speed will drop to 256 kbps.

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Google Fi Japan plans coverage

Google does not release a coverage map on the areas outside of the US so it may be difficult and slightly confusing to see if the area where you live and work has coverage.

Although there is no map, you can type in an address and see if the address will be covered.

As a test, we entered about 10 random addresses from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and all of them showed “4G line communication available”.

It seems like they are renting phone lines from one of Japan’s big 3 phone carriers (docomo, SoftBank, au).

Because of this, unless you are in a very rural area, underground, or deep in the mountains, you can probably expect to be able to communicate without any problems using Google Fi.

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What’s so good about Google Fi Japan?

Up to here, we’ve discussed the Ultimate Plus Plan, the Flexible Plan, and their coverage, but are these plans actually a good value?

In addition to Google Fi, other options for data in Japan include purchasing a prepaid SIM card or signing a contract with a local smartphone carrier.

People come to Japan for a number of different reasons, and we actually recommend choosing your data based on the amount of time and reason you’re in Japan. Keep reading below to check out what we recommend.

What we recommend

For travelers, business trips, and short stays

A prepaid SIM card (For those who travel to Japan and abroad frequently, Google Fi’s Ultimate Plus Plan may work well)

For exchange students or workers staying for long periods

A Japanese monthly SIM plan

For those who use Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus Plan in America

Stay on your Unlimited Plus Plan in Japan

Google Fi’s Flexible Plan is expensive for the amount of data that you’re allowed, so we can’t recommend it. Keep reading for more details for each case.

For travelers, business trips, and short stays

If you plan on staying in Japan for a short period of time, we recommend getting a prepaid SIM card.

For example, with Sakura Mobile, you can use unlimited data for about half the price of Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus Plan or Flexible Plan.

Below is Sakura Mobile’s pricing point for a SIM card with unlimited data.

Days	Price*
8 days	4,500 JPY ($32)
15 days	6,500 JPY ($46)
30 days	9,000 JPY ($64)
45 days	14,500 JPY ($104)
60 days	16,000 JPY ($114)
90 days	24,000 JPY ($171)

*Exchange rate 140 JPY/USD, Tax not included

For those who are frequent international travelers, it may be best to make a contract on Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus Plan.

Not excluding Japan, it may be a hassle to find a prepaid SIM card every time you go abroad. Although it is more expensive, signing a contract with Google Fi may help reduce the hassle and stress of traveling abroad.

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For those staying in Japan 3+ months

If you plan to stay in Japan for a long period of time, such as for a job transfer or to study abroad, we recommend that you sign up for data plans provided by a Japanese carrier.

You might have thought that Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus Plan, which allows you to use 50GB for $70/month, was a great option for you, but this is actually not the case. In fact, Google Fi’s terms and conditions do not allow for long-term use of Google Fi services overseas.

Important: Fi’s Terms of Service require you to activate and use Fi service primarily in the United States. If you try to activate Fi abroad or use Fi service predominantly internationally, you may have your international capabilities suspended.

Source: Google Fi Help

Since the main use of the SIM card is supposed to be “in the United States,” there is a risk that the Google Fi SIM card will get suspended, especially if the card is used in Japan only for more than 3 months.

In addition, prices are also lower when you sign a contract with a Japanese carrier. Sakura Mobile’s plans, which are popular among foreigners, are as follows.

Plans	Data	Monthly fee
LITE	4GB	2,980 JPY ($21)
PREMIUM	25GB	3,980 JPY ($28)

*Exchange rate 140 JPY/USD, Tax not included

Some may worry about the lack of English support with the largest Japanese carriers, so we recommend Sakura Mobile and other providers that offer services in English.

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For people who use the Unlimited Plus plan in the US

If you are currently using Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus Plan in America, it may be best to keep using it in Japan as it won’t cost any extra to keep using it and it will be one less thing to worry about when planning your journey to Japan.

One thing to be careful about is Google Fi’s terms of service. If you plan to stay in Japan for an extended period of time, as explained in the previous section, using Google Fi services overseas for an extended period of time is a violation of the terms and conditions, and you run the risk of having your data and phone line being cut off.

If you plan to stay longer than 3 months, we recommend that you sign a contract with a Japanese phone carrier.

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