The short answer
Tokyo and Kyoto, then a short flight to Seoul, is a common first trip to East Asia. I priced the six regional plans on 25 October 2026 for a week, two weeks and a month, read what unlimited means at each brand, and added up what Ringo Light charges for the two country plans separately. For two weeks or a month across both countries, I would buy the Ringo Light Asia plan.
One eSIM for Japan and South Korea, unlimited data at full speed, 2 weeks at $34.99 or 30 days at $59.99, nothing renews. Airalo asks $49 for 15 days and $73.50 for the month.
For a short hop through Tokyo and Seoul: 3 days of unlimited at $11.50, with 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.
If you only check maps and messages: 10 GB for 30 days at $21 and 20 GB for 45 days at $35 (on sale, regular $40).
A week across both countries with 25 GB at full speed for $25, then 2 Mbps. 20 GB a month for $19 if you are happy with a plan that renews.
Prices read on 25 October 2026: Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi on their own sites or listings, Ringo Light from its catalogue. All in US dollars unless stated. Treat every number as a snapshot.
See the full price index for every country.
The prices, charted
Asia regional plans that cover both countries, US dollars, 25 October 2026. Ringo Light sells 2 weeks, the others 15 days. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no two-week unlimited; its longest is 10 days at $29.
The 30-day regional plan at each brand. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad sells no 30-day unlimited.
Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited, so it lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.
Side by side
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Get Ringo Light for Japan and South Korea, from $21.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 7 days $21.99
- 2 weeks $34.99
- 30 days $59.99
- 90 days $73.99
We sell data eSIMs for now to fund the full Ringo service. Ringo is self funded. Every plan bought here pays for the build of one plan that works everywhere.
Want to keep your own number abroad?
That is the full Ringo service: one plan that works everywhere, with your own number included.
It is a separate product from Ringo Light and it is still being built, so it is not on sale yet. Join the waitlist to hear when it opens.
What to do in Japan and South Korea, and what your phone needs for it
Eight places most trips through Japan and South Korea include, four in each country, with the one thing your data does for you at each. One Asia eSIM works at every stop.
One plan for both countries: Ringo Light
Japan and South Korea sit one short flight apart, and a regional eSIM means you install once at home and never touch your settings at the border. Two country eSIMs mean two installs, two payments and a switch at Haneda or Narita on the way out. I would rather have one plan that is already on when the phone lands at Incheon.
On the Asia plan, I read Ringo Light at $34.99 for 2 weeks and $59.99 for 30 days, nothing renews. For about two weeks of unlimited on a regional plan, Ubigi asks $45 for a fixed 30 GB at full speed, Airalo $49, Holafly $51.50 and Saily $54.99. For a month, the rivals run $66 to $86.99.
Ringo Light's two country plans on their own pages cost more together than the Asia trip for two weeks. Japan's 2 weeks is $21.99 and South Korea's $23.99, $45.98 together, against $34.99 for the Asia trip that covers both. For a month, Japan's 30 days is $54.99 and South Korea's $35.99, $90.98 together, against $59.99 for Asia.
One honest exception: if you spend a month in South Korea alone, its own 30 days at $35.99 beats the Asia plan at $59.99. The Asia plan wins when the trip really includes both.
Which plans cover both countries
Ringo Light covers both. Japan and South Korea are on its list of 20 countries, so one eSIM works in each, at the same price and the same terms.
For the rivals, I read the country counts in the table (Airalo 18, Holafly 16, Saily 22, Nomad 14, Ubigi 17) and the few countries the parent notes they leave out, none of which is Japan or South Korea. I did not confirm Japan and South Korea one by one on each brand's list on the day, so I would open the list for yours before you pay.
If you want a data bucket: Nomad or Airalo
- Nomad, $21 for 10 GB. The cheapest 10 GB on its 14-country APAC plan, and 20 GB for 45 days at $35 (on sale, regular $40). Enough for maps, messages and a few photos.
- Airalo, $25 for 10 GB. Asialink, 18 countries, 20 GB for 30 days at $39, buckets from $4 for 1 GB.
- Ubigi, $28 for 10 GB. Best Asia, 17 countries. Its 20 GB for $19 is a monthly plan that renews until you stop it.
- Saily, $35.99 for 10 GB. Asia and Oceania, 22 countries, no 20 GB bucket on its listing. Read on saily.com, 25 October 2026.
- ✓Ringo Light, no buckets. Ringo Light's 2 weeks is unlimited for $34.99 and its 30 days unlimited for $59.99. For a fixed 10 GB, Nomad and Airalo are cheaper, and for 20 GB, Nomad, Airalo and Ubigi's monthly plan are all cheaper. I would buy Ringo Light for unlimited, not for a bucket.
What Ringo Light is
Ringo Light is Ringo's own data eSIM, and I write for Ringo, so weigh that. It is sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For Asia it sells two trips across 20 countries, Japan and South Korea among them, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $34.99 and 30 days at $59.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.
The card to buy it is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Pick by trip
I would look at the Japan page instead. Ringo Light sells no week, and its Japan 2 weeks at $21.99 costs less than the Asia plan.
I would buy Airalo unlimited, 3 days, $11.50, or Ubigi's week with 25 GB at $25. Ringo Light sells no 3 days on the Asia plan.
I would buy Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $34.99, less than any rival charges for two weeks on a regional plan.
I would buy Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $59.99.
I would buy Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $21, if its 14 countries include both of yours.
None of these travel plans does that. The full Ringo, which Ringo Light funds, ports the number you have.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi, Ringo Light
We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Japan and South Korea on 25 October 2026, all on the same day, in US dollars. Each rival's price comes from its own website where it showed dollars, otherwise from an esimdb.com listing, and every source and its date is listed below. Ringo Light's prices come from the catalogue our checkout charges.
We compare the trips people actually book: a week, two weeks and a month of unlimited data, and a 10 GB bucket. We read each brand's fair use and speed rules and quote them as the brands state them. We did not run speed tests, so this page makes no speed claims for any brand.
Ringo Light is our own product. We put it in the table on the same terms as everyone else, and where a rival is the better buy the page says so.
Left out: Maya Mobile. We could not read its own prices for this country on the day, so it stays out rather than being guessed.
- Airalo: www.airalo.com/asia-esim?currency=USD, Asialink unlimited, 18 countries and the 3 GB daily cap read on the site in dollars, 25 October 2026; 10 GB and 20 GB buckets from esimdb.com/vietnam/airalo, listing dated 4 October 2026
- Holafly: esim.holafly.com/esim-asia/, prices in dollars and the 16-country list on the site, 25 October 2026
- Saily: saily.com/esim-asia-and-oceania/, Asia and Oceania plans, prices in dollars on saily.com, read 25 October 2026
- Nomad: www.nomadesim.com/apac-esim, Regional APAC plans, prices in dollars from the page itself, read 25 October 2026; 20 GB for 45 days is on sale, $40 regular
- Ubigi: cellulardata.ubigi.com/rates-and-coverage/best-asia-data-plans/best-asia-unlimited-30-days/, Best Asia plan pages on cellulardata.ubigi.com, 25 October 2026: 7 days $25, 15 days $45, 30 days $66, 10 GB $28, 20 GB a month $19
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 25 October 2026.
Written and priced by the Ringo team. Prices change often; if you spot one that has moved, tell us through the contact page and we will update the table.
