docomo Hikari for foreign residents: documents, language support and costs when you leave

Which languages you can use

docomo has an English "docomo Hikari" page that covers monthly prices, cancellation fees and the steps to apply. The detailed notes and the terms of service are only in Japanese.^[1]

The same page lists a phone number for help in English, Portuguese, Chinese and Spanish, open 9:00 to 20:00. Call 15770 from a docomo mobile or 0120-005-250 from other phones. But the page also says the phone line for people who already use docomo Hikari is Japanese only.^[1]

The English page says docomo Shops and d garden stores can help you in other languages through an interpreter. If phone calls are hard for you, going to a shop is one option.^[1]

The button on this page goes to docomo's official site. The GMO Tokutoku BB conditions on this page apply only if you sign up through GMO instead. If you apply through GMO without pairing a docomo phone, the docomo Hikari service centre calls you to set the installation date once your documents have been checked.^[10]

What you need to apply

If you already have a docomo mobile, your ID is checked through your mobile contract and your network PIN (ネットワーク暗証番号, nettowāku anshō bangō), and normally no documents are needed. You can only apply online if you pair docomo Hikari with a docomo mobile line.^[1][2]

Without a docomo mobile, you need documents. Foreign nationals show a residence card (在留カード, zairyū card) together with their passport. Permanent residents do not need the passport. If you do not set up payment with a credit card or a bank cash card, you also need a supporting document such as a stamped utility bill receipt.^[2]

If your period of stay ends in less than three months, you can only pay by a credit card in your own name. You will also be asked for a document that shows your period of stay. If you are in the middle of renewing your visa, think carefully about when to apply.^[2]

GMO Tokutoku BB's application page says that if you do not have a docomo smartphone, you need to sign up for one first. However, GMO's help centre also lists documents for applications without a docomo phone. Foreign nationals send their residence card (both sides), passport and certificate of residence (住民票, jūminhyō). Permanent residents send the residence card and the certificate of residence. Before you apply, ask GMO whether they will accept you without a docomo phone.^[9][10]

The contract fee is ¥4,950. docomo bills you for the line itself. If you rent GMO's Wi-Fi router, you also register a payment method with GMO. GMO accepts credit cards issued in Japan and a few other methods, but not debit cards.^[2][9][11]

Before you apply: residence card address, payment methods and the confirmation call →

Installation and how long it takes

Expect two weeks to a month from the date your application is confirmed until the internet works. It can take more than a month in some cases: because of the equipment, in the busy season, or if the shop could not fix an installation date when you applied.^[3]

On installation day, someone who can decide where the equipment goes has to be home. Some buildings are set up so that no visit is needed.^[3]

For a new line, installation is ¥28,600 for a technician visit that installs indoor wiring (docomo's typical example, for applications from 1 June 2026), ¥18,260 for a visit that does not add new indoor wiring, or ¥3,300 if no visit is needed. A weekend or holiday visit adds ¥3,300. You can cancel the application free of charge before the work starts.^[4][5][6]

If you apply through GMO Tokutoku BB as a new customer on the two-year contract, and your installation needs a technician visit, GMO lends you a wireless device free of charge until installation day, for up to 180 days. It is either home 5G or a Wi-Fi STATION, and you cannot choose which. Return postage is free too. This helps if you have just arrived and have no internet at home yet.^[9]

Moving or leaving Japan: what it costs and what to do

It is a two-year contract that renews automatically. You can cancel free of charge in the month your term ends and in the two months after it. At any other time, cancelling costs ¥5,500 for a house or ¥4,180 for an apartment (for applications from 1 July 2022). The term is counted separately from your docomo mobile contract.^[1][7]

You can cancel online (any time, logged in with the d ACCOUNT registered to your docomo Hikari), at a docomo Shop, or by phone (9:00 to 20:00). You can set the cancellation date as late as the end of the month after you apply. That means you can finish the paperwork before you leave and choose your last day of use. If you need to change the date, tell docomo at least seven days before.^[7]

You pay the full monthly charge for the last month, even if you leave partway through it. If you are still paying the installation fee in instalments, the rest is billed all at once in the month after you cancel.^[5][7]

For new applications from 1 June 2026, docomo gives back the installation fee as d POINT (points that expire and can only be used for certain things). You receive them over 24 months, starting in the seventh month after the month your line starts. Each batch expires after six months, and no more points are given after you cancel. If installation cost ¥28,600 (a visit that installs indoor wiring) and you cancel after about a year to leave Japan, you will have received only about 6 of the 24 instalments, so roughly three quarters of the fee never comes back.^[6][9]

Equipment with the NTT logo goes back in the return kit NTT sends after you cancel. A router rented from GMO is separate: it must reach GMO by the 20th of the month after cancellation, or you are charged ¥11,000 (1 Gbps router).^[7][9]

docomo lets you transfer the contract to a family member or another person. So if someone you live with is staying in Japan, they can take over the line. If you move within Japan, ask docomo to move the line to your new address instead of cancelling. Then there is no cancellation fee, but you pay the moving fee and the installation fee.^[8][9]

Leaving Japan: when to cancel and how to deal with the final bill →