A Complete Guide to LINEMO

As we step into a world where everything is going digital, mobile connectivity has become more vital than ever. In light of this, I would like to introduce you to LINEMO, one of the latest entrant in the world of mobile communication services. As an experienced user of LINEMO, I am eager to share my insights and knowledge about this revolutionary platform.

LINEMO is the brainchild of SoftBank Corp., a renowned telecommunications company based in Japan. Introduced in March 2021, it aims to revolutionize mobile communication services in Japan by offering a feature-rich, user-friendly, and cost-effective platform. In this guide, we’ll explore the basics of LINEMO.

Through this comprehensive guide, my objective is to familiarize you with this innovative platform, enabling you to make an informed decision if you are considering signing up or switching to LINEMO. This post introduces LINEMO in three parts: charges, procedures and user-friendliness. So, let’s dive right in!

Charges of LINEMO

In this section, we will look at the following items regarding LINEMO‘s charges.

Items		Remarks
Administration Fee	¥0
Cancellation Fee	¥0
Plans	3GB:¥990 or 20GB:¥2,728/mo
Extra Gigas	¥550/GB
Domestic Calls	¥22/30 seconds
Unlimited Calls	¥550* or ¥1,650/mo	*unlimited 5-minute calls
Promotions	990 yen worth of PayPay points for 6 months etc.

Let’s look at them in order.

Administration Fee

LINEMO offers no administrative fee; many services charge between 3,000 yen and nearly 4,000 yen, but LINEMO’s no fee makes it easy to sign up.

Cancellation Fee

LINEMO also has zero cancellation fees. There is no minimum usage period.

Plans

LINEMO offers the following two plans.

	GB/mo	Monthly Bil	Speed after Bandwidth Limit
LINEMO Best Plan	3GB〜10GB	990円〜2,090円	over 10GB：300kbps over 15GB：128kbps
LINEMO Best Plan V	20GB〜30GB	2,970円〜3,960円	over 30GB：1Mbps over 45GB：128kbps

Even if you run out of gigs, you can still use the internet at low speed. I was limited to 300 kbps, but I managed to watch YouTube.

Also, with both plans, you can use LINE text messages, voice calls, and video calls as much as you want at high speed.

So it is quite possible to get through a month with the 3GB/990yen plan.

Extra Gigas

If you run out of LINEMO gigs, you have the option of buying additional gigs, in addition to continuing to use it at a lower speed.

The cost is 550 yen for 1 gigabyte. It can be conveniently purchased online.

Domestic Calls

LINEMO’s domestic call charge is 22 yen/30 seconds. As mentioned earlier, both voice and video calls on LINE are completely free.

Unlimited Calls

LINEMO’s two unlimited calling options are as follows.

Option	Monthly Bill
5-minute unlimited calling	¥550
Completely unlimited calls	¥1,650

If you sign up for the 5-minute unlimited call plan, you can save money on calls by hanging up before the 5 minutes is up and calling back.

Promotions

LINEMO is actively running promotions. The campaign that led me to sign up for LINEMO was a plan that offered 990 yen worth of PayPay points for 6 months, which can be used for shopping, dining, and paying LINEMO bills, making it a very good deal.

Procedures of LINEMO

In this section, the following aspects of the LINEMO procedure are presented.

Items
Application	Online only
English Pages	Available
ID	Residence Card etc.
Cancellation	Online only

Let’s start with the application.

Application

LINEMO applications are only available online. In-store applications are not available.

English Pages

LINEMO has an English page, which can be accessed by tapping the following button.

However, the application form is in Japanese. If you have difficulty reading Japanese, you can access the instructions in English by clicking the “Application Guide” button （shown in the bottom left-hand corner of the image below） from the English page.

ID

Identification documents that can be used to apply for LINEMO are as follows.

Status of Residence	ID
Permanent Resident	Residence Card
Special Permanent Resident	Special Permanent Residence Certificate
Others	Residence Card and Passport

Cancellation

LINEMO cancellations are accepted online only, as is the case with the application.

User-friendliness of LINEMO

In this section, we share the following information about LINEMO‘s user friendliness.

Items		Remarks
Internet Connection	Good
eSIM	Available
5G	Compatible
Payment	Credit cards・Direct debit・PayPay
Change of Plan	Web	by 21:00 on the last day of the previous month
App	Available	for the procedure to start using the eSIM
International Roaming	internet・calls・SMS

Internet Connection

LINEMO uses its own lines, so you can enjoy high speed internet anytime, anywhere. 5G has given me nearly 300Mbps at times. I was surprised that it was faster than WiFi at home.

eSIM

LINEMO supports eSIM and there is no charge for eSIM issuance. I have a contract with eSIM.

5G

LINEMO is already 5G compatible; if you are in a 5G compatible area with a 5G compatible phone, you can use high speed internet.

Payment

LINEMO bills can be paid in the following ways.

It helps that they support a variety of methods.

Change of Plan

LINEMO plan changes can be made online. By completing the procedure by 9:00 p.m. on the last day of each month, the plan switch will take effect the following month.

App

There is an app for the procedure to start using eSIM.

International Roaming

LINEMO can be used overseas for internet, calls, and SMS.

New subscribers must wait 5 months from the first billing date before they can use the service overseas.

Conclusion

This post introduced LINEMO in three parts: charges, procedures and user-friendliness.

I hope this article will help you choose the best SIM in Japan!

Here is a post introducing recommended SIMs in Japan.