Now Free Wi-Fi Services Are Increasing In Japan

Until a couple years ago, for most foreign tourists visiting Japan finding free Wi-Fi outside had been a trouble, but finally the services started increasing. 

There is a free app named "TRAVEL JAPAN Wi-Fi, which provides free Wi-Fi service for only foreign tourists visiting Japan as you can see in the photos above. Also there is another service named "Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi" which is provided at shopping malls, airports, stations and inside of trains. In addition, some cities such as Hachioji City in Tokyo, started free Wi-Fi services in the downtown as you can see in the upper right hand side photo.

Why it took so long to have free Wi-Fi services in Japan after smartphones came out? Actually Japanese old types cellphones have had internet connection from the long time before smartphones and tablets came out. The internet services have been provided by cellphone companies and when people bought a cellphone with a phone number and contracted with a phone company, an email address for the cellphone and internet connection were included in the service. 

Of course these old types cellphones didn't have improved functions as good as smartphones and tablets nowadays, but all of them had a camera and a color display, then they were enough to exchange emails/photos and see simple websites of shops and companies in early days. Since the internet accesses were given through the cellphone connection Japanese people didn't have inconveniences outside.  

Even after smartphones and tablet came out, people still used the same system so that they had internet connection included in their phone-number contracts and didn't need Free WiFi services separately. However, it had been really inconvenient for visitors from foreign countries and there was a deregulation for the Japanese cellphone business. At last Free WiFi services for outside started spreading in Japan. 

I think it is interesting to see that even the circumstances of high-tech gadgets which seems like global items today are different in each country. It can be a part of cultural gap experience for your travel!

Here is information for outside Free WiFi service especially in Tokyo area!
Travel Japan WiFi
Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi
WiFi HOTSPOT GUIDE / Official Tokyo Travel Guide Go Tokyo