1 · The short answer

Kyoto has no airport of its own and is rarely a whole trip: most people spend three or four days here between Tokyo and Osaka. So the eSIM you want is a Japan plan that lasts the full journey. We priced the six that get most of the traffic on the same day and looked at what your phone has to do in a city of buses, temple hills and narrow lanes.

OUR PICK
✓Cheapest unlimited for the whole rail-pass trip

Unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $50.99, covering Kyoto and every other stop. Nothing renews.

Nomad
✓Cheapest if Kyoto is all you do

3 days of unlimited at $11, on KDDI au and SoftBank. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.

Ubigi
✓Docomo coverage

On NTT Docomo and KDDI, useful in the hills north of the city. 10 GB for 30 days at $16.50.

Holafly
✓Simplest unlimited

Days, not gigabytes, on KDDI and SoftBank. $27.50 for a week; sharing limited to 1 GB a day.

Two weeks of unlimited data in Japan
$26.992 weeks31% less
Next cheapest: Ubigi at $39.00, 15 days
A month of unlimited data in Japan
$50.9930 days22% less
Next cheapest: Ubigi at $65.00, 30 days

Prices read on 27 September 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.

Travelling further? Compare the best eSIM for Asia and the eSIM for Asia-Pacific.

2 · The prices, charted

Two weeks of unlimited data in Japan

US dollars, 27 September 2026. Ringo Light and Nomad sell 14 days, the others 15. Ubigi's 15 days is 30 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps.

$26.99 · 2 weekscheapest
Ubigi
$39.00 · 15 days
Nomad
$41.00 · 14 days
Airalo
$48.00 · 15 days
Saily
$48.99 · 15 days
Holafly
$50.50 · 15 days
A month of unlimited data in Japan

The 30-day plan at each brand. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed. Ubigi's month is 60 GB at full speed, then 2 Mbps. Nomad stops at 21 days.

$50.99 · 30 dayscheapest
Ubigi
$65.00 · 30 days
Airalo
$69.00 · 30 days
Saily
$71.99 · 30 days
Holafly
$73.90 · 30 days
10 GB in Japan

Holafly sells no buckets. Ringo Light sells no bucket either: its 2 weeks is unlimited, and lasts 2 weeks, not 30 days.

Nomad
$16.00 · 30 dayscheapest
Ubigi
$16.50 · 30 days
Saily
$17.99 · 30 days
Airalo
$18.00 · 30 days
$26.99 · 2 weeks, unlimited

3 · Side by side

Swipe to compare →

AiraloHolaflySailyNomadUbigi
ModelBuckets or unlimited daysUnlimited days onlyBuckets or unlimited daysBuckets or unlimited daysBuckets, then 2 MbpsUnlimited trips: 2 weeks or 30 days
Unlimited, 3 days$11.50$11.90No 3-day plan$11No 3-day planNo 3-day plan
Unlimited, 7 days$26.50$27.50$28.99$258 days, 5 GB a day, $25No 7-day plan; 2 weeks $26.99
Unlimited, 2 weeks15 days $4815 days $50.5015 days $48.9914 days $4115 days, 30 GB, then 2 Mbps, $39$26.99
Unlimited, 30 days$69$73.90$71.99No 30-day plan; 21 days $4960 GB, then 2 Mbps, $65$50.99
10 GB, 30 days$18No buckets$17.99$16$16.50No buckets; unlimited 2 weeks, $26.99
20 GB, 30 days$25No buckets$24.99$2325 GB $32No buckets; unlimited 30 days, $50.99
Full speed on unlimited3 GB a day, then 1 MbpsNo daily cap stated; sharing 1 GB a day5 GB a day, then slowed2 GB a day, then slowerA fixed amount, then 2 MbpsUnlimited data at full speed
NetworksSoftBank and one otherKDDI, SoftBankNot named by SailyKDDI au, SoftBankKDDI, NTT DocomoLocal partner network
Renews?NoNoNoNoMonthly plans doNo; the trip ends when it ends
App neededYesNo, QR codeYesOptionalOptionalNo, the eSIM arrives by email

Get Ringo Light for Kyoto, from $26.99.

Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.

Loading plans for this destination.

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?

The full Ringo service

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.

4 · What to do in Kyoto, and what your phone does for you there

Seven places for a first stay in Kyoto, from the eastern hills to Arashiyama in the west. All are on bus, train or subway lines and all have good 4G and 5G.

Fushimi Inari Taisha, Fushimi
FushimiFushimi Inari TaishaThe shrine to Inari, god of rice, with tunnels of torii gates running up the mountain behind it. The full loop to the summit and back takes two to three hours.✓JR Inari station is right at the shrine gate, two stops from Kyoto Station. A route app saves you the bus.Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kiyomizu-dera, Higashiyama
HigashiyamaKiyomizu-deraA temple on a wooden stage built out over the hillside, above a sea of trees that turns red in November. Below it, the stone lanes of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka.✓Arrive at opening time. By mid-morning the slope up from the bus stop is shoulder to shoulder.Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gion and Hanamikoji, Higashiyama
HigashiyamaGion and HanamikojiWooden teahouses and lantern-lit lanes in Kyoto's geisha district, at their quietest in the early morning and at dusk.✓Some side alleys are private and closed to visitors, and signs say so. Do not photograph geiko or maiko without asking.Photo: lumoplank, CC0
Nishiki Market, Nakagyo
NakagyoNishiki MarketA narrow covered street of pickles, tofu, sweets and grilled seafood, known as Kyoto's kitchen.✓The market asks visitors not to eat while walking. Eat at the stall where you bought it, then move on.Photo: ignis, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Philosopher's Path, Sakyo
SakyoThe Philosopher's PathA stone path along a canal between Ginkaku-ji and the Nanzen-ji area, lined with cherry trees and small temples.✓Walk it north to south and let your map pick the café stops on the way.Photo: Gzzz, CC BY 4.0
Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, Sakyo
SakyoGinkaku-ji, the Silver PavilionNever covered in silver, but famous for its raked sand garden and moss paths climbing the hill behind the pavilion.✓The hillside path has the best view of the pavilion and the city. Keep some battery for it.Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama
ArashiyamaTogetsukyo BridgeThe long wooden bridge over the Katsura river, with forested hills behind, boats for hire and the bamboo grove a short walk away.✓The JR Sagano line is often faster than the bus from central Kyoto. Check both in your transit app.Photo: Tomomarusan, CC BY 2.5

5 · Getting to Kyoto, and online on the way

There is no airport in Kyoto. From Kansai International the JR Haruka reaches Kyoto Station in about 75 minutes; from Tokyo the Nozomi Shinkansen takes a little over two hours. Either way your eSIM is already working when you arrive, so install it before your flight and switch it on when you land wherever you land.

Kyoto Station is large, with the JR, Kintetsu and subway lines and the main bus terminal out front. Look up your hotel's nearest bus stop or subway station on the train in, so you walk out of the right side of the building.

6 · Buses, temples and signal

Much of Kyoto is reached by city bus, and the buses to the famous temples fill up. A transit app with live times shows which bus is coming next, and often a faster route by subway or train that the crowds miss: the Keihan line for Fushimi Inari and Gion, the JR Sagano line for Arashiyama.

Coverage is good everywhere in the city and on the hillside temple paths. On the upper trails of Mount Inari and in the valleys north of Kyoto, at Kurama and Kibune, the signal can thin out. Save the area offline in your maps app before you climb.

All three networks, NTT Docomo, KDDI au and SoftBank, cover Kyoto, Nara and Osaka well. The network matters little here.

7 · Which plan fits a Kyoto stay

Kyoto on its own, two or three days: Nomad sells 3 days of unlimited at $11 and Airalo at $11.50. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.

Kyoto as part of a rail-pass trip, Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka and Hiroshima over ten days to two weeks: Ringo Light 2 weeks of unlimited data at full speed at $26.99, one eSIM for every stop. For about two weeks the rivals ask $39 to $50.50.

A month or a slow stay to see the seasons, the maples in November or the cherry blossoms in April: Ringo Light 30 days at $50.99.

8 · Day trips from Kyoto

Nara and its deer are 45 minutes away by Kintetsu or JR. Uji, home of matcha and the Byodo-in temple, is about 20 minutes south. Osaka is 15 minutes by Shinkansen. Your Japan plan covers all of them, with no change to make.

9 · What Ringo Light is

Ringo Light is our own data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere with your own number ported onto it. For Japan, Kyoto included, it sells two trips, both unlimited data at full speed: 2 weeks at $26.99 and 30 days at $50.99. Nothing renews. The eSIM arrives by email in seconds and installs in one scan, no app.

It sells no buckets. For a fixed 10 GB, Nomad, Ubigi, Saily and Airalo are all cheaper. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.

10 · Pick by trip

Two or three days in Kyoto only

Nomad unlimited, 3 days, $11. Ringo Light sells no 3-day plan.

Kyoto as one stop on the rail pass

Ringo Light unlimited, 2 weeks, $26.99, for Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima on one eSIM.

A slow month for the autumn colours or the blossoms

Ringo Light unlimited, 30 days, $50.99.

Light use, maps and bus times

Nomad 10 GB for 30 days at $16.

11 · Frequently asked questions

What is the best eSIM for Kyoto?+
For a trip that runs a week or more, Ringo Light: unlimited data at full speed for 2 weeks at $26.99 or 30 days at $50.99, priced on 27 September 2026, covering every stop in Japan. For three days in Kyoto alone, Nomad at $11.
Is there a Kyoto airport where I can activate my eSIM?+
No. Kyoto has no airport. Most visitors fly into Kansai International or Tokyo and turn the eSIM on there; it then works on the train to Kyoto and in the city.
Does mobile data work at the temples and on Mount Inari?+
In the city and at the temples, yes, on every network. On the upper trails of Mount Inari and in the valleys at Kurama and Kibune the signal can weaken, so save your map offline first.
Can I use my phone to catch the right bus in Kyoto?+
Yes. A transit app with live times shows the next bus, how to pay, and often a faster train or subway route than the crowded temple buses.
Is it rude to use my phone in Kyoto's temples?+
Phones are fine in the grounds. Some halls and gardens forbid photos and ask for quiet; signs say so at the entrance.

12 · How we compared, and our sources

We priced Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad, Ubigi and Ringo Light for Kyoto on 27 September 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: Revolut. It sells Japan data plans of 1 GB for 7 days up to 20 GB for 30 days inside its banking app, for Revolut account holders only. Its website shows the plan sizes and a starting price in pounds, but no price per plan in dollars, and no unlimited plan, so it has no bar in the charts. 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.

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.