The short answer
Telstra's International Day Pass lets your own mobile plan work in Japan for A$10 a day (about $7), charged only on the days you use the phone there. I would cover a Japan holiday with Ringo Light: $9.99 for 3 days, $21.99 for 2 weeks, $54.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed. Telstra wins where it counts for a lot of people: your own number, calls and texts included, and nothing to install.
Unlimited data at full speed for 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $21.99 or 30 days at $54.99, one payment, nothing renews. Telstra is A$10 for every day you use the phone in Japan.
The pass runs on your own plan, so calls and texts keep working on your own number, there is nothing to install, and the cost lands on the Telstra account you already pay. A phone with no eSIM slot works too. Ringo Light is data only.
Prices read on 31 October 2026: Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank 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.
The prices, charted
US dollars, 31 October 2026. Telstra is charged only on days the phone is used, so 14 days is the most it can cost for the fortnight. Telstra's A$140 is converted at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole 2 weeks.
Telstra's page shows no monthly pass for Japan, so 30 days is 30 times the daily price, A$300 at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70. Ringo Light is one payment for 30 days.
Three days of use at each, Telstra's A$30 at A$1 = $0.70 (ECB, 30 October 2026). Telstra is the only one of the two that also carries your calls and texts.
Side by side
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Head to head
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- Airalo vs Holafly for Japan
Get Ringo Light for Japan, from $9.99.
Installed once, next to your own SIM. Your eSIM arrives by email in seconds.
- 3 days $9.99
- 2 weeks $21.99
- 30 days $54.99
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.
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Telstra International Day Pass vs Ringo Light in one paragraph
For data in Japan, I found Ringo Light well under the Day Pass once a holiday runs past a day or two. Two weeks is $21.99 against A$140 (about $98), a month is $54.99 against A$300 (about $211), and a long weekend is $9.99 against A$30 (about $21). The Day Pass wins on convenience, and that is a real win: calls and texts work on your own number, nothing needs installing, the cost sits on the Telstra bill you already pay, and it works on a phone with no eSIM slot. For a day or two with zero setup I would take the Day Pass. For a longer holiday, or a laptop on the hotspot, I would buy Ringo Light.
Price: the same trip at each
Telstra's roaming page puts Japan in Zone 2 at A$10 a day, charged on days the phone is used for calls, sent texts or data, background data included, read 31 October 2026. That is A$30 (about $21) for three days of use, A$140 (about $98) for two weeks and A$300 (about $211) for 30 days, because the page shows no monthly pass for Japan. I changed the Australian prices into dollars at the European Central Bank reference rate of 30 October 2026, A$1 = $0.70.
I read Ringo Light's Japan catalogue in US dollars, and the checkout shows the amount in the buyer's currency before paying. Trips are $9.99 for 3 days, $21.99 for 2 weeks and $54.99 for 30 days, one payment. The gap is $76.01 on two weeks and $156.01 on a month. I give the pass the win only on a single day of use, A$10 against $9.99 for the 3-day trip; from a second day the Ringo Light 3 days is already ahead.
Data and speed at each
The Day Pass includes 2 GB of data a day, with unlimited standard calls and SMS, and what you do not use expires at the end of each day, per Telstra's page. The page states no roaming speed. Beyond the 2 GB Telstra sells a data top up of 2 GB at A$10 (about $7), valid for 31 days, and says non-Upfront plans receive it automatically when the day's data runs out. I would expect two gigabytes to cover maps, messages and photos; a day of video or a laptop on the hotspot can pass it. Ringo Light is unlimited data at full speed for the whole trip. Fair use policy, see Terms.
Calls, texts and your own number
This row goes to Telstra outright, and I will not dress it up. With the Day Pass your phone behaves as it does at home: the same number rings, texts arrive as usual, and verification codes sent to your Australian number keep reaching you. Ringo Light is data only. Calls go over apps that use data, and your own SIM stays in the phone for calls, with your number staying on your own SIM next to it. If your bank will text a code to your Australian number while you travel, keep your own SIM active whichever you choose.
Setup and billing
As I read it, the Day Pass needs nothing from you: the day is charged when the phone makes a call, sends an SMS or uses data in Japan, and it lands on your Telstra account. Ringo Light arrives by email after you pay and installs in one scan of the QR code. Do it at home on Wi-Fi before the flight and switch the eSIM on for data when you land in Tokyo or Osaka. The phone must support eSIM; the Day Pass has no such requirement.
What Ringo Light is, and what it is not
I write for Ringo, so weigh that. Ringo Light is its data eSIM, sold to fund the full Ringo, one plan that works everywhere. For Japan it sells three trips, all unlimited data at full speed: 3 days at $9.99, 2 weeks at $21.99 and 30 days at $54.99. One payment, nothing renews.
What it is not: it has no phone number, so it does not replace your Telstra service for calls and texts, and it needs a phone with an eSIM slot. Telstra is simpler and keeps everything on one bill, and that counts; Ringo Light is the lower price for the same time in Japan.
The comparison of the travel eSIM brands for Japan is at /blog/best-esim-for-japan. The card to buy Ringo Light is further up this page, just after the side-by-side table.
Which to pick
- ✓Ringo Light, for any holiday longer than a couple of days. $21.99 for 2 weeks or $54.99 for 30 days, unlimited data at full speed, against A$10 for every day of use at Telstra.
- ✓Telstra Day Pass, for a day or two with zero setup. Nothing to install, calls and texts on your own number, A$10 per day used.
- ✓Telstra Day Pass, if your phone has no eSIM slot. It works on the plan already in the phone.
- ✓Both, for a long trip with a work line. Ringo Light for data, your own SIM for the calls and texts your number needs.
Pick by trip
Ringo Light, 3 days, $9.99, against A$30 (about $21) for three days of the Day Pass.
Ringo Light, 2 weeks, $21.99. Fourteen days of the Day Pass is A$140 (about $98).
Ringo Light, 30 days, $54.99, unlimited at full speed for the laptop. The Day Pass would be A$300 (about $211).
Telstra Day Pass, or Ringo Light for data with your own SIM left in the phone for calls.
Telstra Day Pass. Ringo Light needs an eSIM-capable phone.
Frequently asked questions
How we compared, and our sources
Telstra, Ringo Light, European Central Bank, Ringo Light
We priced Telstra and Ringo Light for Japan on 31 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: Other eSIM brands. Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Nomad and Ubigi sell Japan too and are priced in the full comparison at /blog/best-esim-for-japan. This page answers one question, Telstra or Ringo Light. Left out: Telstra prepaid. Telstra's page points prepaid customers to separate Pre-Paid International Roaming Packs and gives no prices for them, so this page prices the Day Pass only.
- Telstra: www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming, International Roaming Day Pass zones, A$10 a day for Zone 2 with Japan listed, the 2 GB a day allowance, billing on days used and the A$10 2 GB top up, read 31 October 2026
- Ringo Light: ringoesim.com/japan, the catalogue the checkout charges, read the same day
- European Central Bank: www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml, euro reference rates of 30 October 2026, the latest published on 31 October 2026, used for the dollar figures (A$1 = $0.70)
- Ringo Light: our own catalogue, the prices the checkout charges on 31 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.
