Night at Haneda Airport. As you step out into the arrivals lobby, you pick up a small package. Inside are a palm-sized Wi-Fi device, its charging gear and an envelope for sending it back.
You switch it on and connect your family’s phones one by one. Your kid’s tablet, too. Before long, “Made it!” messages are flying from everyone’s phones.
When a family rents pocket Wi-Fi, one person ends up looking after the device: the Wi-Fi keeper. This article is for that Wi-Fi keeper.
The Wi-Fi keeper doesn’t actually have much to do, because with pocket Wi-Fi, the extra effort all comes at pickup and return. Decide how you’ll pick it up and how you’ll return it before you leave. Once that’s done, you’ll hardly have to think about it for the rest of the trip.
Pickup deadlines, return deadlines and prices differ from company to company, and they can change. When you book, check the information from the company you’re renting from (as of October 2026).
Just 2 things to decide first
- Where you’ll pick it up — an airport counter / a self-service box at an airport, station or similar spot / delivery to where you’re staying
- How you’ll return it — drop it in a Japanese mailbox / put it back in a self-service box
Which of these you can choose depends on the company. For example, with Japan Wireless, you pick it up at an airport counter or where you’re staying, and return it in a mailbox. With WiFiBOX, you pick it up from a box at an airport, station or similar spot, and return it to a box.
In other words, choosing a company also means choosing how you’ll pick it up and return it.
3 ways to pick it up
At an airport counter
A staff member hands it to you in person. Some companies ask you to show your passport when you pick it up.
Where the counter is depends on the company, and even in the same airport, different companies may use different counters. So you don’t get lost, head to the counter listed in your booking confirmation.
Counters have opening hours. The pickup time you give when you book is a rough guide, and with some companies, you can still pick it up if your flight is delayed, as long as you arrive while the counter is open. If it looks like you’ll get in after it closes, go with delivery to where you’re staying or a 24-hour box (see “If your flight gets in late at night” below).
At a self-service box
You book ahead, then scan a QR code at the box to pick it up. WiFiBOX has boxes at more than 750 locations in Japan, including airports and stations. With no staff needed, some spots at airports can be used 24 hours a day.
You do need to book, but depending on availability, you may be able to book on the same day.
There’s also a 24-hour unstaffed Wi-Fi rental in the Terminal 3 arrivals lobby at Haneda Airport.
Delivered to where you’re staying
You pick it up at the front desk when you check in. It’s sent so it arrives before the day you start using it.
When you order, use the name of the person who’ll pick it up. If it matches the name on your accommodation booking, things go quickly at the front desk.
Note that Japan Wireless says it can’t deliver to Airbnb stays, and recommends picking it up at a post office instead.
If your flight gets in late at night
If you’ll arrive less than 2 hours before the counter closes, Japan Wireless recommends having it delivered to where you’re staying. For a late flight, have it delivered to where you’re staying or book a 24-hour box. That way, you won’t be running around the airport looking for a counter when you land.
If you still don’t make it to the counter in time, contact the company right away (the contact details are in your booking confirmation). Some companies will resend it to where you’re staying, for a fee.
Book early, and it’s easier
Japan Wireless suggests ordering at least 3 days before pickup as a guide, but it also accepts last-minute orders. If you’re having it delivered to where you’re staying, it takes time to get there, so that’s all the more reason to book early.
Once you land, connecting takes a few minutes
Once it’s on, check the device’s Wi-Fi name and password. Then just turn on Wi-Fi on your phone, choose that name and enter the password. Japan Wireless says you can “connect in 2 minutes.” You don’t swap SIMs, so it doesn’t matter whether your phone is SIM-locked.
There’s just one thing to do on your own phone. If the Wi-Fi is weak, your phone may switch over to your home carrier’s line, so turn data roaming off on your home carrier’s line. If you won’t be using your home number for calls or texts, it’s also fine to turn on Airplane Mode and then turn on just Wi-Fi.
Pocket Wi-Fi is data only and doesn’t come with a phone number. For calls, use a calling app. Pocket Wi-Fi can’t be used to call 110 or 119, Japan’s police and fire/ambulance numbers. For phone calls when you need help, see the “When You Need a Japanese Phone Number” article.
During the trip — one device for the whole family
How many devices can connect depends on the model. For example, Japan Wireless allows up to 8. With WiFiBOX, the standard model handles 5, and the 5G model handles 10. If you’re adding a tablet to your family’s phones, check the number before you rent.
Battery life depends on the model, too. For example, a Japan Wireless device lasts about 8 to 10 hours of continuous use, and you can stretch that with the power bank that comes with it. On days you’re out from morning to night, put the power bank in your bag as well. Back at your room, charge the device so it’s ready for the next day.
Since you’re sharing one device, decide who’ll carry it on days your family splits up. It’s realistic to assume that anyone away from the device won’t have a connection.
In the mountains, underground or deep inside buildings, the connection may be weak or slow. For how to check things when you can’t connect, see the “When Your Phone Won’t Connect in Japan” article.
Last day — into a mailbox before security
If you return it in a mailbox
Put the device and all the charging gear into the return envelope you got at pickup, flatten it and drop it in a mailbox. Japan Wireless’s envelope is already addressed, with postage paid. With Japan Wireless, any mailbox in Japan will do, and it doesn’t have to be where you picked it up. You can even return it from a different airport on your way home.
If you’re sending it from the airport, drop it in a mailbox before you go through security (the bag screening). Before your family lines up for security, the Wi-Fi keeper drops the envelope in with a “plop.” And that’s the job done.
There are places you can’t return it, too. With Japan Wireless, you can’t return it at the airport counter where you picked it up or at a hotel front desk.
If you return it to a box
With WiFiBOX, slide the device into a box with an open slot. Once you hear a “click,” the return is done, and a confirmation email arrives. If no email comes, contact the company. There are exceptions to which boxes you can return it to, so check the instructions that came with your booking ahead of time.
Check the deadline in your booking confirmation
By what day and what time do you need to return it? If you mail it, which day counts: the day you send it or the day it arrives? How it’s counted depends on the company’s rules. Some companies give you until the day after you finish using it, but check the deadline in your booking confirmation ahead of time.
When you’re in trouble
- You might return it late — apply for an extension first. If you’re late without extending, you’ll be charged for the extra days. With some companies, the connection stops the day after the deadline
- You took it home by mistake — contact the company right away
- It’s lost or stolen — contact the company right away. Some companies ask you to get a certificate from the Japanese police or a similar authority
- Adding coverage? — decide when you book. Some companies don’t let you add it after pickup
- It won’t connect or is acting strangely — restart it by holding down the power button (15 seconds for WiFiBOX). If that doesn’t fix it, contact the company. Some companies will send you a replacement device
Coming from Korea or Taiwan? — renting at your home airport is an option too
If you’re coming from Korea or Taiwan, there’s also the option of renting at an airport in your home country and returning it there on your way back. In that case, this article’s “return it in a Japanese mailbox” doesn’t apply.
For example, with 와이파이도시락 in Korea, you can return it at a different center from the one where you picked it up. For how to pick it up and return it, check the information from the company you rent from.
Checking the number of devices and the battery, and turning data roaming off on your home carrier’s line, are the same as in this article.
For now, just this
- Decide how you’ll pick it up (counter, box or where you’re staying). For a late flight, where you’re staying or a 24-hour box
- Check how and by when to return it in your booking confirmation
- Decide on coverage when you book
- Once you land, turn data roaming off on your home carrier’s line
- At the airport on your way home, drop it in a mailbox before security
Once the envelope drops into the mailbox at the airport on your way home, the Wi-Fi keeper’s job is done. From there, it’s off to the gate, traveling light and chatting with your family about the trip.
