Home internet for foreign residents
Home internet in Japan, explained for people who do not read Japanese
Most guides to Japanese internet providers compare speed and price. Those are the easy parts. The parts that actually stop people are the residence card, the phone call in Japanese, the building permission, and the cancellation fee you find out about when you are already leaving the country.
All providersStart here
If you want to apply and get support in a language other than Japanese, two providers here say they do that: GTN Home Internet (staff contact you in your preferred language; GTN Mobile's support centre covers 13 languages, though not specifically for fibre) and Sakura Fiber Internet (English, with an interpreter on installation day).
The four large providers (GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari, docomo Hikari, au Hikari and SoftBank Hikari) expect Japanese for the application, the installation arrangements and cancellation. Some have English pages or an English phone line, but these are mostly for mobile customers, not for the fibre line itself (sources on each provider page).
If you choose one of the four and nobody can help you in Japanese, contact your local multilingual consultation desk before you apply. Ask whether they can help with phone calls.
Read these first
What to do about language when applying for internet in Japan
The installation visit: what happens and what to arrange
The English pages of this site have no affiliate links: every provider link goes to the official site. The Japanese pages have affiliate links for some of the providers listed here, and we may receive a commission when someone signs up through one of them.
This page compares 6 providers. The Japanese version of this site has affiliate partnerships with 4 of them (GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari, docomo Hikari, au Hikari, SoftBank Hikari), but this English page has no affiliate links for any provider. GTN Home Internet and Sakura Fiber Internet are not affiliate partners. This is not every provider you can sign up with in Japan.
How the table is sorted: providers that take applications in languages other than Japanese come first; within that and the rest, the cheapest apartment monthly price (tax included, no campaign discounts) comes first. This is not a ranking. Prices were checked on each provider's official site (date in the last column).
| Comparison | Language support | Apartment / month | Contract | Time to connection | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTN Home Internet | Full | ¥4,180 | 2-year | 1–2 weeks Counted from document and payment registration; the official page does not say whether installation waiting time is included. | 3 October 2026 |
| Sakura Fiber Internet | Full English, Japanese | ¥7,678 | Month to month (no cancellation fee; 1-month minimum) | 1–4 weeks | 3 October 2026 |
| GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari | Japanese only | ¥3,773 | 36 months (no cancellation fee; any remaining installment balance for installation is billed in full when you cancel) | 2–8 weeks Can take longer than 8 weeks depending on the building or the time of year | 27 September 2026 |
| au Hikari | Japanese only | ¥4,180 | House 3-year / Apartment 2-year | 1–8 weeks Can take longer than 8 weeks depending on the building or the time of year | 3 October 2026 |
| SoftBank Hikari | Japanese only | ¥4,180 | 2-year | 1–4 weeks Can take longer than 4 weeks depending on the building or the time of year | 3 October 2026 |
| docomo Hikari | Japanese only | ¥4,400 | 2-year | 2–4 weeks Can take longer than 4 weeks depending on the building or the time of year | 3 October 2026 |
Latest articles
All articlesWhat you need to apply for home internet in Japan
What to do about language when applying for internet in Japan
The installation visit: what happens and what to arrange
Cancelling your internet when you leave Japan
GTN Home Internet for foreign residents: documents, language support and costs when you leave
Sakura Fiber Internet for foreign residents: documents, language support and costs when you leave
Compare providers
See allThe providers side by side on language support, monthly price, contract length and time to connect, and what each one asks of you as a foreign resident.
Before you apply
See allThe address on your residence card, the payment methods each provider accepts, how they will contact you, and what to do if you cannot use Japanese.
Installation & leaving
See allWhat happens on installation day, the building permission you need first, and how to cancel when you leave Japan.
Who runs this site
About this siteThis site is run by a sole proprietor in Saitama. It compares 6 providers, not every provider you can sign up with in Japan. 4 of them are affiliate partners, but only on the Japanese pages: the English and Vietnamese pages have no affiliate links. Affiliate status does not change what we compare or the sources we use.