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• ななしのごんべい
• 2025/11/03 (Mon) 13:39
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I think you're mixing up data and wifi. Wi-Fi is an old phone that you don't have a contract with, but if you turn it on, you can still get internet
Data is what's called 5G, so if you can talk on your phone, you can also receive data signals
When you're driving around, When you're driving, you can look at Google Maps, that's data transmission, not Wi-Fi
WIFI is received by any cell phone as long as there's a signal there.
For example, in a hotel, at the airport, or inside a McDonald's. Inside the hotel, it's WIFI, out front, on the beach, it's datacom.　When you are driving, it is not WIFI
So, if you have a contract with Verizon that allows you to make phone calls in Japan, you should be able to make data calls.
SIM and eSIM are the same. Roaming is a Japanese roaming company （ like Softbank ） so roaming is usually turned on when you get to Japan
I have a contract with Hanacell for Japan
I use Hanacell for my temporary return to Japan
I can make calls in the U.S. but not in Japan. <1369> I don't use my phone in the US as much as possible, I use my old cell phone which I don't have a contract with, with a Hanacell sim.
I can use it to call friends, restaurants, etc.
If I stay with Verizon, I can't use my US phone number, so if someone calls me, it will be treated as an international call.

• good health
• mail
• 2025/11/03 (Mon) 21:47
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Nanashi Gombeidan, thank you very much for your kind explanation ♪ I think I will probably go with the Verizon travel plan. One more question: About 10 years ago I heard a lot of stories about people in Japan who turned on roaming all the time on their US phone and when they came back to the US they got huge bills. If I turn on roaming all the time on my American phone without a travel plan and without a Sim, will the same thing happen now ？ Sorry, this is a stupid question. Thanks ♪

• Marcosilverj
• mail
• 2025/11/04 (Tue) 07:27
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Hi, by Verizon travel plan do you mean "TravelPass" （ $ 12/day ）? I have TravelPlan, but I no longer use this international plan when I return home these days. As you know, with TravelPlan you can use your cell phone the same way you use it in the US for $12/day （ which means you can make calls, send/receive text messages, communicate data, etc ） but in my experience, I have never actually used it the same way. In my experience, I have never been able to use it in the same way. It is especially difficult to connect to the internet for data communication, i.e. when I am out （ WiFi works fine ）. In TravelPlan, I often can't connect when I am walking around Tokyo or taking a train. So, recently I have been trying to rent a pocket WiFi. Pocket WiFi, as the name implies, is a portable WiFi that allows you to connect to the Internet even when you are out and about. If you want to make a call to the US or receive a call from the US, you can make and receive calls through WiFi instead of a phone line. In my case, I use Air Plane mode when I am using Pocket WiFi. Or rather, I put it in Air Plane mode before arriving in Japan and leave it there until I return to the US. This is to avoid additional charges. However, only the WiFi function needs to be turned on. Even if you don't put your phone in Air Plane mode, if you turn off both the roaming function and data transmission, you will get the same result, because you will not be able to use anything but WiFi. As for your question "if you turn on roaming all the way on your US phone without a travel plan and without a Sim," you could get a very expensive bill depending on how much you use your phone and data communications. If you only use WiFi in hotels and other buildings, and only take photos and videos outside, then you should turn on only the WiFi feature and leave it in Air Plane mode, or turn off both roaming and data, and you will not be charged extra by Verizon.
I will try using an eSIM next time I'm back home too. Simply put, using a SIM or eSIM is like using a different cell phone from the one you normally use in the US （ i.e. Verizon's SIM ）. So, if you are in Japan and using an eSIM, you will not be able to receive calls to your US phone number. However, it gets a little complicated, but from what I have found, you can set up the following way ： Verizon SIM when using WiFi, phone line （ phone and data communication ） so that the eSIM is used when using the WiFi. Then you can receive calls to your US phone number through the WiFi Calling feature （ but only when you are connected to WiFi, such as at a hotel ） and when you are not connected to WiFi, such as when you are away from home, the eSIM will be used... I've never done this before, so I honestly don't know if I'll succeed. I've never done this before, so I honestly don't know if it will work or not...

• Anna
• 2025/11/04 (Tue) 23:53
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Marcosilver, thank you for your kind and clear explanation😊This will be a trip for a tech-savvy couple. We are coming to the idea of going with the Verizon travel plan this time. My husband does a lot of texting with friends, and I can do line if there is Wi-Fi at the hotel, bullet train, or shopping center. eSIM is something I've thought about, but I've never done it before, so I'm nervous. I've thought about eSIM, but I've never tried it and I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble. I sincerely appreciate your advice ♪.

• ななしのごんべい
• 2025/11/05 (Wed) 09:43
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If you want to text with your husband's US phone number, you'll probably need a Verizon overseas plan with a data line （ and roaming ）
I think you can send texts for free, but you'll have to pay to send them

with LINE. You don't need a contract, you don't even need a sim
but if you don't turn off roaming, you might get a big bill later because it might use your data line.

• Marcosilverj
• 2025/11/06 (Thu) 06:43
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If your priority is "he texts a lot with friends", I would suggest renting a pocket WiFi and using it for all of your time in Japan （ as long as you turn off both data and roaming, you will not be charged extra ）. If you are using Verizon, you can probably use the "WiFi Calling" feature, which means that you can connect your pocket WiFi to WiFi （ ）, you can make phone calls and receive text notifications from the US for free via WiFi （. Of course, you can also connect to the Internet. But you have to carry a pocket WiFi device with you at all times, so you will have more luggage for that... If you rent a small pocket WiFi, I don't think it will be that much of a pain. As I mentioned in a previous message, TravelPlan （ roaming ） doesn't work as well as I would like. I can't use it here and there.

• Anna
• mail
• 2025/11/09 (Sun) 01:37
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Thank you all for your kind advice😊I will use the Verizon travel pass because my husband will be texting a lot this trip and I need a US number. We will use the Wi-Fi at the hotel for internet since you advised that roaming doesn't work very well. I will consider eSIM if I am the only one going to Japan. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule ♪

• 倍金萬
• 2025/11/10 (Mon) 12:57
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＞ Portable Wi-Fi is a hassle to pick up and return at the airport

It is indeed a hassle. I once rented "Portable Wi-Fi" a long time ago, but it took me quite a long time to pick up ・ and return it. Moreover, the pickup booth was located in a remote area of the airport, so I still have the memory of wandering around quite a bit.

The name of the "portable Wi-Fi" company was something like "Sapporo", which made me even more anxious.

On the other hand, it is now very easy to do everything online with either Verizon or T-Mobile. No, wait, one of them had to make a phone call once to get things done. I'm in my later years and my memory is becoming less and less clear. 😢

• ポケ
• 2025/11/10 (Mon) 13:58
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If you have pocket Wi-Fi, it's a few hundred yen a day for unlimited data.

If you turn on Wi-Fi calling, you can text the same as when you are in the US.

＄ 12 ／ I think it's great if you can pay per day, but it's really expensive.

• ななしのごんべい
• 2025/11/10 (Mon) 18:08
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With portable Wi-Fi, I don't have an international roaming contract, so
if I get a text from the US, it's free ？.

• ポケ
• 2025/11/13 (Thu) 21:10
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If you turn on Wi-Fi Calling, you will receive texts as usual.

But if you get a call and leave a message, you can't listen to it.

I can call and text normally. You can call and text normally, as long as you set it to Airplane mode when you leave the US and connect it to your pocket Wi-Fi when you get back to Japan.

You can make and receive phone calls as well. I think I should call back since Missed Call is also displayed.

By the way, I can connect several devices at once with pocket Wi-Fi, so I can connect my children's iPads, my husband's smartphone, and even my niece and nephews when I go out.

It was about 400 yen a day.

• Poke
• 2025/11/15 (Sat) 13:35
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It's been 7 years now, but I had trouble with my pocket WiFi because the battery lasted only about half a day even if I didn't use it that much.
The rental store's website also says that the battery drains much faster than a cell phone, but what about recent models ？?

• HCSIM
• 2025/11/15 (Sat) 14:09
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I checked HanaCell and found 3G （ $ 29/mo ） per month, but this is not much data ？ I don't need a Japanese phone number, so I'm not sure whether I should use Pocket WiFi or Pocket WiFi. Will I get more data if I pay separately ？?

• ポケ
• 2025/11/16 (Sun) 14:38
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I only use unlimited data and I'm afraid to sign up for 3GB or something like that 😅

I didn't mind the low battery on my pocket wi-fi last year, but this year it was really low and I left a message when I returned it and they apologized if there was something wrong with the device or if this happens again. If this happens again, please contact us immediately and we will replace it.

I carry a mobile charger and can charge it in the car, so it was fine, but when I go back to Japan, there are a lot of things I don't usually do. I don't carry a mobile charger in the US.

• HCSIM
• 2025/11/16 (Sun) 15:02
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If you didn't mind the battery helicopter, I guess that means Bokeh had enough for one day and night. Having a variety of pocket WiFi, cell phone, and spare charger is inconvenient and HanaCell seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure about not being able to add on 3G along the way.

• ななしのごんべい
• 2025/11/17 (Mon) 09:02
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Hanacell is unlimited and no additional charge, just slower speeds after 3GB is used up!

• ポケ
• 2025/11/18 (Tue) 21:29
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Unlimited is good if you don't mind slowdowns ！

I don't know anything difficult, so I can always use it normally. I can expect to panic if it suddenly slows down or stops while I'm driving, so I'm excited to get unlimited.

I think people who understand how much they use, GB and capacity, can save more.

Last year I don't remember my battery running that low if I charged it in the morning and went and used it occasionally on the road, but this year I was often frustrated because I just used it a little and it ran out of charge quickly.

Last year I didn't carry a mobile charger with me, but this year if I didn't have a mobile charger, the battery was completely dead before the evening.

It is quite heavy to carry mobile charger, smartphone, and pocket Wi-Fi. But I think it is a sacrifice to make my stay in unfamiliar Japan as convenient as possible.

• .倍金萬
• mail
• 2025/11/19 (Wed) 18:52
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＞ I turned it on only when I wanted to make a call, since there was no incoming call.

This is too old a story to be of any help, but it was around 2012 when I stayed overnight in Dogo Onsen Town in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture on a walking pilgrimage to Shikoku on a trip to Japan, and the next morning I was walking through the city to the next temple, No. 52, Taiyama-ji. The next morning, I was walking through the city to the next temple, 52nd Taisanji Temple, when my cell phone rang through my pocket WiFi.

When I picked up the phone, it was a friend of my wife's (XX) and she said, "I tried to call you but you didn't answer, so I called your husband. \If you are there, can you please take over the phone?

That's not good. I picked up the phone and said, "I'm walking around Matsuyama city in Shikoku, Japan, and of course my wife is not around, so I'll hang up the phone. But the other party didn't seem to understand what I said, so they called me again right away.

I have such memories of Pocket WiFi, and I can still clearly recall the situation.