More companies in the travel industry offer now free wi-fi services to travellers coming to Japan.
TOKYO- In a relatively expensive country such as Japan, the announcement to offer free services are always good news for travellers. Over the last week, two companies, rail operator JR East Japan and Visa in association with Wi2 are now offering free wi-fi to foreign visitors.
JR East Japan is now starting free public wireless LAN services intended for foreign customers. Service will be available from October 1, 2012 at JR EAST Japan Travel Service Center and 13 stations located on Tokyo most famous circle rail route, the Yamanote Line. It comprises some of the capital’s busiest stations such as Shibuya, Harajuku, Yoyogi, Shinjuku or Ueno stations.
Registration by email can be done in English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese to guarantee access to Internet via PC or smartphone at the mentioned selected areas of JR East Japan. The service will also be available at Tokyo Station but also at Narita Airport Station, Airport Terminal 2 Station and Haneda Airport International Terminal Station (Tokyo Monorail) under the address “JR-EAST_FREE_Wi-Fi”. Each time, the connection is valid up to three hours.
Meanwhile, Visa Worldwide and Wire and Wireless Co., Ltd. (Wi2) also announced the launch of free one-day Wi-Fi access on Wi2’s “Wi2 300” Wi-Fi Service for all Visa cardholders visiting Japan. Effective immediately, this offer will run through August 29, 2014.
With the rapid growth of digital devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, the need for Wi-Fi Internet connection has never been stronger, especially with international tourists who have to pay high costs for data roaming outside their countries. In this regard, Japanis in acute lack of convenient Wi-Fi service available for international tourists with few companies providing multi-language support for their services.
To meet this demand, Visa and Wi2 have teamed up to offer free one-day Wi-Fi connection with multi-language support for visiting tourists, followed by a 20 percent discount for three-day and seven-day Wi-Fi service offered by Wi2. Wi-Fi networks are available throughout Japan, including major airports and leading merchants such as Starbucks and Lawson convenience stores.
To enjoy the offer, Visa cardholders are required to register on the Wi2 website before departure from their home countries. Alternatively, after they arrive in Japan, visiting tourists simply find either “Wi2” or “Wi2premium” access points to access the website for registration. Registration for the one-day free access is easy on the Wi2 website, which is available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean and English. After the one-day free access expires, cardholders are given the option to buy either a three-day or seven-day service package at a 20 percent discount.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
