N.B. Some links in this article are affiliate links, and I may receive a commission for purchases made at no extra cost to you.
Japan is a really popular tourist destination for English speakers, plus it has something of an expat population, plus lots of people get sent there on work projects. Therefore there’s plenty of need there for private, encrypted internet connections that a good VPN can provide.
Almost all paid-for VPN service will provide servers in Japan, but are there any free VPN options that also have servers in Japan? Do we have any options to get an IP address in Japan for free using a VPN?
The good news is there are a couple of viable free VPN options with Japanese servers; here is a quick summary:
- ProtonVPN – Free & Unlimited (recommended)
- Tunnelbear – Free and secure, 500 MB monthly data
- PrivateVPN – 7 day free trial
As per usual for the entire topic of free VPN options, the current search results on this are poor and low-relevance, returning results to VPN services that are not actually free, or don’t have free Japanese servers specifically, or single companies promoting their own product only.
In this article, I’ll stay as relevant as possible by listing only VPN options that are both 100% free to use, and have servers specifically in Japan that can be used on their free versions. In this way, I hope my content is more useful than some other search results on this topic.
Let’s look at the 3 major options in more detail.
Free VPN Option #1 – ProtonVPN (Free & Unlimited)
This is undoubtedly the best free VPN option available that also gives you a server in Japan, but also totally unlimited use, even on the free version. You get the best of everything!
ProtonVPN are primarily a Premium VPN service offering servers in around 60 countries, but they also have a free version of their product that covers Japan!
Here are the main benefits of ProtonVPN’s free version:
- Totally unlimited use
- Has multiple servers in Japan – Tokyo (currently 7 free servers). Also has free servers in USA and Netherlands
- Strict no logs policy.
- Fast, reliable servers. Even the free version has always worked well when I’ve used it.
- Based in Switzerland with a strong commitment to privacy (like their ProtonMail service).
- Even the free version looks, feels and operates like a proper VPN service (it’s not a browser add-on – it’s a full on proper VPN software)
- You can upgrade to the Premium version with more countries/servers for a very competitive price
Click here to view a full server list and get started with ProtonVPN, and select their Free Plan.
It’s a legitimate VPN service, where you download their software and load it up, select your server and go. It covers all browsers you use and is not just built into one browser, so you get comprehensive protection once you enable it.
Also, if I were to recommend one option out of the three we’ll cover that has the best chance of unlocking streaming services in Japan, I’d pick ProtonVPN, simply because it’s got multiple servers to test out, plus it’s a proper full-on VPN program.
However, to keep this in context, most free VPN’s struggle to consistently access geo-restricted streaming services – Premium VPN’s with a specialty in streaming are best for this. However, of your free options, ProtonVPN is probably your best bet, but success can’t be 100% guaranteed on this with any service unfortunately.
Many users may need to look no further than this to get everything they need from a free Japanese VPN. It’s literally got everything you need, because it’s free, unlimited, and has multiple servers in Japan. Nevertheless, we’ll also cover some other options, though they can’t quite match up to ProtonVPN.
Free VPN Option #2 – PrivateVPN (7 Day Free Trial)
Another service that works much the same way as ProtonVPN is PrivateVPN – they offer a 7 day unlimited free trial of their service that has a Japan server.
PrivateVPN do offer a free trial of their service, without any upfront payment required:
Visit PrivateVPN’s free trial page here. Email their support at support@privatevpn.com to receive a gift code to activate a 7 day free trial of the full service.
Here are some good features of PrivateVPN:
- 200 high speed servers in 63 countries (including Japan – Tokyo)
- Unlimited server use
- Based in Sweden with strong privacy and consumer protection laws.
- No nonsense, user friendly interface.
- Also despite the cheap price, has an excellent reputation for accessing streaming services.
And also if you decide to upgrade to their Premium version, here are some benefits:
- 36 month plans currently at $1.61/month (effectively 12 months + 24 extra months free). The best long term value on the market.
- 30 day money back guarantee.
It’s only a short term trial and doesn’t match up ProtonVPN’s free service, but it’s a viable option and their Premium plans are also better value than ProtonVPN.
Free Option #3 – Tunnelbear Free Version
This option is a long way behind the two other ones, but it’s still a legit free VPN,
Nevertheless, Tunnelbear is still a perfectly usable free VPN with a server in Japan (Tokyo), but on the downside it only gives you 500 MB of data to use each month. This makes it really unattractive compared to ProtonVPN with it’s unlimited use.
Click here to visit Tunnelbear’s site. Click the Tunnelbear logo on the top left to go back to the homepage, and click on “Plans”. If you sign up for the Free account, you get 500 MB of data to use each month.
On the positive side, like ProtonVPN or any Premium service, Tunnelbear is a proper looking and proper feeling VPN service, even on the free version. It’s not a cheap looking VPN built into a browser that’s almost a proxy/VPN hybrid – it’s a full software program you load separately, and that gives you protection on all browsers once it’s enabled.
However, the big problem is the low data allowance. 500 MB won’t go very far at all, even for basic use. Could be OK for very short term basic use for a few days or on holiday, but not much more.
Some Less Good Japan Free VPN Options
Here are some less optimal free VPN solutions for Japan.
1. UrbanVPN – A shared, peer to peer proxy style “VPN” where users pool each other’s connections and IP addresses. Does have unlimited use, but I wouldn’t class it as a legit VPN. Also, it’s definitely NOT a confidential, zero logs VPN, as they openly state that they collect user data and browse history. Wouldn’t recommend overall
Some Premium VPN Options With Japanese Servers
If at some point you decide you’d like to use a VPN in more locations and have unlimited use and better support, you might want to consider upgrading to a paid VPN plan. Japanese users are spoiled for choice here, because literally ALL paid VPN services will offer at least one location/server in Japan.
Firstly, ProtonVPN, and Tunnelbear both have Premium plans (with more countries/servers and unlimited use) you can upgrade to for very reasonable prices.
However, we’ve also listed some other Premium VPN services for you to browse through, that also offer Japan servers (all Premium VPN’s offer IP addresses in Japan), plus unlimited use and 24/7 support.
Some Premium VPN Services With Japanese Servers (links are affiliate links)
| Provider | Price (12 months paid in advance) | Number of locations in Japan | Number of Devices Allowed | Main Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private Internet Access (PIA) | $3.33/month | 2 (Tokyo plus Streaming Optimized server) | 10 | Great value |
| VyprVPN | $5/month | 1 (Tokyo) | 5 | Speed |
| ExpressVPN | $8.32/month | 3 (2 Tokyo servers plus Yokohama) | 5 | Good for streaming |
| NordVPN | $5/month | 1 (Tokyo - 80+ servers) | 6 | Double Encryption & Server Choice |
| AtlasVPN | $3.29/month | 1 (Tokyo - Streaming Supported) | Unlimited | Cheap no nonsense VPN |
Signing up for a VPN is usually very easy. You simply visit their site (click on one of our links above for each provider), sign up, pay your subscription, download their product and boot up the program.
Once running you simply select a preferred server location and open the VPN connection. You now have a secure, encrypted connection with an IP address in that location, that will keep all your browsing and personal data safe over public and private Wi-Fi networks.
