The Best VPNs for Japan 2024

If you're seeking a virtual private network (VPN) for Japan, then you can't go wrong with NordVPN It's one of the safest, fastest, and highest-rated VPNs on the market. Surfshark also has fast speeds and unblocks streaming while costing less than NordVPN, which makes it more affordable if you’re living that Tokyo high-rise life. And for those who want access to more streaming platforms than any other VPN, CyberGhost has you covered. 

Whether you live in Japan, are visiting, or just want to snuggle down on your sofa with geo-blocked Japanese anime, you’ll want to use one of the best VPNs available to stay safe while enjoying the vibrant culture and beautiful surroundings. But which one of these VPN apps has the features and price points that work for you?

The best VPNs for Japan 2024

Japan has a vibrant and sophisticated coffee scene as well as a highly efficient public transportation system. Add to that the influence Japanese movies and TV have around the world, and you have a beautiful, internationally appreciated culture. You may be wondering what these things have in common — it’s the technology-driven lifestyle that extends past its borders.

Considering most people in Japan are active participants in this culture, VPNs are a must when living in and visiting Japan. A VPN protects you from hackers, scams, and other threats floating around on public Wi-F networks. If you aren’t visiting but want to experience the entertainment created in Japan, you’ll also need a VPN to get a Japan IP address and access geo-restricted content.

Luckily, VPNs are legal in Japan, so you won’t have to worry about breaking the law. Whether you’re using an app on your phone or altering your computer’s IP address, a VPN provider is essential.

• NordVPN: Best for fast speeds
• Surfshark: Best value
• CyberGhost: Best for unblocking all the streaming sites

3 best Japan VPNs compared

VPN	NordVPN	Surfshark	CyberGhost
Starting price	Starts at $2.99/mo (billed every two years)	Starts at $1.99/mo (billed every two years)	Starts at $2.03/mo (billed every two years)
Number of Japanese servers	130+	62	109
Streaming support	Yes — Netflix (unofficially), Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, DAZN, and more	Yes — Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, DAZN, HBO Max, and more	Yes — Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, DAZN, Crunchyroll, and more
Torrenting support
Learn more	Get NordVPN Read NordVPN Review	Get Surfshark Read Surfshark Review	Get CyberGhost Read CyberGhost Review

How we tested the best VPNs for Japan

We wanted to make sure we found the best VPN Japan has to offer, so we ran each provider through a series of tests. These tests revealed how well each VPN provider performed in terms of speeds, security, server stability, and ability to unblock content. Here are just a few of the features we tested:

• Kill switch — A kill switch is an essential security feature, so we made sure each VPN had a working one. This will disconnect your device from the internet if the VPN goes down for any reason, stopping any data transfers and preventing data leaks.
• Speeds — It's frustrating having to deal with slow internet, especially when it's the fault of the VPN. So, we made sure each VPN on this list can provide high speeds at any time of the day.
• Unblocking ability — A major benefit of using a VPN is the ability to access content that isn't usually available in your country. With this in mind, we made sure that the VPNs we picked can access the most popular sites.
• No-logs policy — A no-logs policy is an important factor that shows the VPN is dedicated to not saving or tracking your browsing activity. This means what you do online is hidden.
• Customer support — If you have any questions about your VPN and how it works, it's important to have someone you can ask. We made sure the VPNs we recommend offer fast and high-quality customer service. 

NordVPN: Best for fast speeds

Who it’s best for

If you’re looking for fast speeds and don’t want your VPN to slow you down, give NordVPN a try. Whether you’re uploading TikTok videos from mipig cafe, spending your commute streaming your favorite show, or enjoying a snack in your room in Pennsylvania while catching up on Alice in Borderland, you’ll need your VPN to keep up.

Independent security research institute AV-TEST named NordVPN the fastest VPN on the market, which means you’ll get the best speed wherever you go.[1]

What we liked

There isn’t much we didn’t like. NordVPN is fast, secure, and offers a slew of additional features to keep us safe online.

We’re especially pleased with NordVPN’s Meshnet technology that links remote devices over secure connections. This means you can meet your work deadline on Teams or beat your sister at Mario Kart without needing to be on the same network.

We were also happy to see how many streaming services NordVPN was able to unblock. Streaming and VPNs have a complicated relationship, especially when a streaming company wants to keep certain content locked to a specific region. Unblocking geo-restricted content opens up so many more options.

By using obfuscated servers that hide your VPN usage, you should be able to unblock even the trickiest content from streaming services like Netflix, which are constantly battling VPNs.

What we didn’t like

NordVPN’s cost sits at the higher end of the VPN pricing spectrum, especially if you pay for a monthly plan rather than a yearly plan. All of those features don’t come cheap. If you decide you do like NordVPN, your best bet is to purchase a longer subscription to get the most value for your money.

We also wish NordVPN would release a pre-enabled router like ExpressVPN’s Aircove. Configuring the app onto your current router can be frustrating if you aren’t familiar with or comfortable with configuring a VPN onto a router. Maybe we’ll see more name-brand-configured routers in the future.

NordVPN specs

Price range	$2.99–$17.99/mo
Free version	No
Number of servers	6,800+ servers in 111 countries
Number of Japanese servers	130+
Number of connected devices	10
VPN protocol	OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec, NordLynx (WireGuard )
No-logs policy	No logs
Kill switch	Yes
Split tunneling	Yes
Streaming support	Yes — Netflix (unofficially), Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC Disney+, DAZN, and more
Torrenting support	Yes
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and more
Learn more	Get NordVPN Read NordVPN Review

Surfshark: Best value

Who it’s best for

If you’re looking for a fast VPN with a variety of features for a reasonable price, Surfshark may be exactly what you need. It’s a perfect balance of a feature-rich VPN with lots of extras like CleanWeb, which helps block ads and trackers while maintaining a great price.

If you notice the range of Surfshark prices and think $22.00 or more a month isn’t really cost-effective, remember that’s the price for Surfshark One+ — the VPN plus antivirus and identity theft protection features. That’s a lot of bang for your buck!

What we liked

Surfshark is one of our favorites. It’s fast, inexpensive, includes a well-rounded set of security features, and allows us to connect unlimited devices. The dashboard design is aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly, much like Japan’s architecture. We’re also fans of how secure Surfshark is for users.

The U.S. leads the world in data breaches, followed closely by Russia. Surfshark has never been breached or compromised. Many other VPNs, including NordVPN, have been hacked before, which is why we love that Surfshark isn’t part of that group. This means the data your VPN encrypts through Surfshark is safe.

What we didn’t like

There isn’t much to dislike. Surfshark is located in the Netherlands, which is a 9 Eyes Alliance country, but it also follows a no-logs policy that’s been independently audited. Otherwise, we couldn’t find anything else to pick apart with Surfshark. It’s pretty great.

Surfshark specs

Price range	$1.99–$17.95/mo
Free version	No
Number of servers	3,200+ servers in 100 countries
Number of Japanese servers	62
Number of connected devices	Unlimited
VPN protocol	WireGuard, IKEv2, OpenVPN
No-logs policy	No logs
Kill switch	Yes
Split tunneling	Yes
Streaming support	Yes — Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Hulu, DAZN, and more
Torrenting support	Yes
Compatibility	iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, Linux, and more
Learn more	Get Surfshark Read Surfshark Review

CyberGhost: Best for unblocking all the streaming sites

Who it’s best for

If you want to stream everything, and we mean everything, then CyberGhost is for you. Its list of supported streaming services is so massive we couldn’t even list all the platforms.

There’s support for popular streaming services like HBO Max, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video but also niche content like TeaTV and even the Eurovision song contest.

What we liked

CyberGhost has a lot of unique features, like the in-house NoSpy servers and multi-lingual customer support. It also has specialty VPN servers optimized for streaming, torrenting, and gaming. The website even has a page dedicated to teaching you how to spend less on your online purchases with a VPN.

In addition to all the bells and whistles, CyberGhost is safe. It’s headquartered in Romania, which isn’t part of the Eyes Alliances, which also means there are no data retention laws.

The NoSpy servers are owned and operated by CyberGhost, so there’s no one else lurking at the gate of your server network. For instance, there are NoSpy servers for torrenting, so you can download with limited to no slowdowns from your internet service provider (ISP). Also, CyberGhost has never been hacked. If you’re using public Wi-Fi a lot, CyberGhost really has a handle on security to make sure your internet activity is completely private.

What we didn’t like

We’ve found that, at times, CyberGhost can get buggy on an iPhone (we didn’t test on an Android). There’s also a debate online as to whether or not it noticeably slows your download speeds. On Reddit, users have mentioned they changed up the protocol and got much better speeds.[2]

CyberGhost specs

Price range	$2.03–$6.99/mo
Free version	No
Number of servers	Unlisted in 100 countries
Number of Japanese servers	109
Number of connected devices	7
VPN protocol	OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard
No-logs policy	No logs
Kill switch	Yes
Split tunneling	Yes — Android only
Streaming support	Yes — Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, DAZN, Netflix, Crunchyroll, and more
Torrenting support	Yes
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and more
Learn more	Get CyberGhost Read CyberGhost Review

Honorable mentions

Each of the VPNs mentioned here are fantastic options. We decided to list the following VPNs as honorable mentions rather than top choices simply because our top choices worked just a little better for unblocking Japanese content or surfing the web while adventuring in the country itself. You can’t go wrong with any of these, either.

• ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN is powerful and full of features. If you’re looking for a way to cover all the devices in your home, you can purchase the Aircove router, which is ExpressVPN’s proprietary hardware with its VPN already installed. If the price is a little out of your budget, there are other great options with lower monthly costs.
  
  Get ExpressVPN | Read Our ExpressVPN Review
  
• Private Internet Access (PIA): PIA has been in the game for over 10 years, so it’s a service you know you can trust. The price is great, and there are plenty of additional security features, like a dedicated IP, that make this product worthwhile. We’ve experienced some bugginess with Private Internet Access on iOS devices, but that’s been resolved as far as we know.
  
  Get PIA | Read Our PIA Review
• Atlas VPN: From Nord Security, Atlas VPN is fast, secure, not all that expensive, and reliable. It even has a free version that won’t hound you with ads. You may experience issues unblocking all the streaming platforms you want, but if streaming isn’t your main focus, that shouldn’t be a problem.
  
  Get Atlas VPN | Read Our Atlas VPN Review

How to choose the best VPN

There are a few key features in a VPN you’ll want to look for:

• Fast connection speeds
• Plenty of server locations
• Ability to unblock streaming sites
• A no-logs policy
• At least AES-256 encryption
• A reasonable price
• 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try the service risk-free

Also, make sure to check to see if the VPN has ever been hacked or has any kind of data caps. As long as you’re staying protected, you should be good to go. Just make sure to disconnect every once in a while and experience all Japan has to offer.

Best VPNs for Japan FAQs

Bottom line: The best Japanese VPNs

NordVPN, Surfshark, and CyberGhost are three of the best VPN services you can get for use in Japan. Whether you’re visiting the newest themed cafe or trying to watch your favorite show, a VPN keeps your traffic private and encrypted.

NordVPN’s city-specific servers allow you to zero in on a location. CyberGhost’s NoSpy servers make sure no third parties are accessing your data ever. Surfshark makes sure all your devices are covered since you can connect an unlimited amount.

3 best VPNs for Japan 2024

	Starting price	Best for	Learn more
NordVPN	Starts at $2.99/mo (billed every two years)	Best for fast speeds	Get NordVPN Read NordVPN Review
Surfshark	Starts at $1.99/mo (billed every two years)	Best value	Get Surfshark Read Surfshark Review
CyberGhost	Starts at $2.03/mo (billed every two years)	Best for unblocking all the streaming services	Get CyberGhost Read CyberGhost Review