As a frequent traveler to Japan, a lot of the experiences or products I’m interested in are often tied to online accounts that are only practical to obtain if you are a Japanese resident. Here are some methods that I’ve used in the last 2 years to get over these hurdles even as a foreign visitor.

Hurdle 1: Japanese cell phone number

A lot of account signups meant only for Japanese locals require a Japanese phone number that can send and receive SMS and voice calls. Having a cell phone is pretty ubiquitous, smart or “dumb” phone.

The method I used was to get a Mobal Long Term Japan SIM Card which gives you a real Softbank Japanese phone number while in Japan with a monthly pool of 4G data and unlimited “slow” data speeds after the pool is exhausted. It is important to get the long term plan so you can keep the phone number indefinitely (even while not in Japan) by keeping the account current (paying the monthly rate). If a short term time-limited plan is used, the phone number will be lost and any account tied to the phone number may break in the future due to losing the ability to receive SMS and calls, or due to the number being reissued to someone else that then uses it to unintentionally “take over” the accounts associated with the number when they sign up for the same services.

Hurdle 2: Japanese-issued payment method (prepaid credit card)

Foreigners will have a particularly hard time making online purchases because it is impossible to get a Japanese bank account for them, and sometimes online services use a payment processor that doesn’t support foreign credit cards. When submitting a credit card for payment, “Japan-issued” is often not listed as a requirement and will simply fail without a clear reason; the presence of an international credit card brand in the list does not guarantee your foreign credit card will work.

The method I used was to get a Japanese LINE Pay account using the Japanese SIM I obtained from Mobal (note: signing up for LINE initially will require receiving an SMS code on the Japanese cell phone number you sign up with). This is a prepaid virtual credit card issued in Japan on the Visa payment network, so any site that requires a Japanese-issued Visa card should work. However, charging the card requires a Japanese bank account, 7-11 ATM, or Lawson “Loppi” copy machines. This effectively means you have to plan your purchases accordingly and load the card while in Japan. As of April 30, 2025, LINE Pay service in Japan has been discontinued. Full feature deprecation timeline is available in Japanese at https://line-pay-info.landpress.line.me/payment-info/.

The method I used was Vandle Card using the Japanese SIM I obtained from Mobal (note: signing up for Vandle initially will require receiving an SMS code on the Japanese phone number you sign up with). However, the Android app is only available in the Japanese Google Play store so a Japanese Google account will be required (multiple Google accounts can be signed into Google Play simultaneously on Android phones); I have not tested with the Apple App Store. Unlike LINE Pay, there are methods to load the prepaid balance that can be completed online (in addition to 7-11 ATM, Lawson ATM, and other convenience store methods), namely credit cards that support 3D Secure (which I have tested successfully using an American Express issued by American Express National Bank in the U.S.).

Payment examples

For one broken example, the au PAY mobile app is a QR code payment system that uses a prepaid digital wallet charged using a Japanese bank account, 7-11 Japan ATM, certain Japanese-issued Visa-branded credit cards, JCB-issued credit cards, and “all” Mastercard, American Express, and Diner Club International credit cards. However, attempting to input an American Express issued by American Express National Bank in the U.S. fails, so I was left with no better charging methods compared to the LINE Pay prepaid Visa.

One example that somehow works is Lawson Ticket. Whether it’s an event- or venue-specific subsite for overseas sales or the Japan-only main site, using an American Express issued in the U.S. (the same one I tried on au PAY) succeeds. Other sites using Lawson Ticket’s account system probably also work; I’ve successfully used HMV & Books Online with a U.S. shipping address (side note: while the shipping costs can be steep because of using international air freight, they are meticulous in packaging everything to prevent damage in transit).

Another example that was previously broken and now works as of March 2025 is e+ with American Express issued by American Express National Bank in the U.S. Note that the “overseas” e+ site is separate and has generally broader support for credit cards, whereas the Japanese site requires receiving an SMS code on the Japanese cell phone number you sign up with in addition to generally supporting only Japanese-issued credit cards until the American Express started working.

Situational: geo-blocking

Some sites use your public IP address to impose geo-restrictions to only allow Japan-based users. One specific example I’ve encountered is the Japanese sections of Lawson Ticket (the events or venues only allowing Japanese to purchase); it manifests as a generic login failure. For this, using a VPN like ExpressVPN with a Japan location has worked for me.