If you want to use the Internet comfortably at home, we recommend the “optical line (Hikari)” service. Communication speed is faster and stability is better than optical line pocket Wi-Fi.
However, for those who do not know which company’s optical line to choose, we will explain how to choose an optical line.
What’s Hikari Line?
Hikari is “Optical line” is an Internet communication service using an optical fiber cable. Compared to mobile routers such as pocket Wi-Fi, the speed and stability are usually better and there is no data limit.
However, the installation work will be mandatory so it takes about 1 month to start using the internet from the application. Moreover, some areas or buildings often need about 2 months.
We recommend you applying as soon as possible since you can change the date for the installation work later.
Home Rooters are recommended if you want WiFi right away
Home routers are basically Pocket WiFibut you can’t take it outside. As with Pocket WiFi, home routers don’t require installation work, which allows you to save a large amount of money, and all you need to do is plug them in. You can start using the internet as soon as you receive the device and the whole process usually takes only a few days. Home routers are also recommended for those who plan to move to the other place because you can use them anywhere as long as they are plugged in,
However, the speed and stability of home routers are not as good as optical lines so if you play online games a lot or watch youtube on high resolution all the time, this is not recommended.
How Can I Choose a Hikari line?
Use a Set Discount
Most companies offer you a set discount if you use a certain cell phone career that is tied up with them. For example, you can get a 1,100 yen discountif you use docomo phone and docomo Hikari, which allows you to save up to 26,400 yen.
If you are planning on using a major phone carrier, chose one that is in a tie-up with it.
| Hikari line | |
| docomo | docomoHikari |
| SoftBank | SoftBank Hikari NURO Hikari |
| au | au Hikari @nifty Hikari |
| Y!mobile | SoftBank Hikari |
IPv6 Makes Your Internet Much Faster
If you always watch videos in high resolution or play video games a lot, we recommend you choose one with IPv6.
The best-effort value (= theoretical speed) of an average optical line is 1~2Gbps. However, you won’t get this speed when actually using the internet because many people share a one optic line and the speed slows down when they use it at the same time.
Compared to normal optical lines, ones with IPv6 use a different line, which is less crowded than normal ones so the speed is less likely to slow down. Not only the best-effort value, but you should check whether the lines have IPv6.
| Best-Effort value | |
| @nifty HIkari | 1Gbps |
| docomo Hikari | 1Gbps |
| SoftBank Hikari | 1Gbps |
| au Hikari | 1Gbps (5Gbps in Tokyo) |
| NURO Hikari | 2Gbps |
8 Major Hikari Companies in Japan
We compare the apartment-plan/home-plan of 8 major internet companies in terms of price, set discount, speed, and installation cost
Hikari Lines for Apartment plan
| Monthly Fee | Set Discount | MaximumSpeed | InstallationCoste※1 | |
| Flet’s Hikari | 3,850 yen+550 yen～※2 | × | 1Gbps | 16,962 yen |
| @nifty HIkari | 3,828 yen※3 | au | 1Gbps | 16,500 yen |
| docomo HiIkari | 4,400 yen | docomo | 1Gbps | 16,500 yen |
| SoftBank Hikari | 4,180 yen | SoftBankY!mobile | 1Gbps | 26,400 yen |
| au Hikari | 4,180 yen | au | 1Gbps | 33,000 yen |
| NURO Hikari | 5,720 yen | SoftBank | 2Gbps | 44,000 yen |
| BIGLOBE Hikari | 4,378 yen | au | 1Gbps | 29,700 yen |
| OCN Hikari | 3,960 yen | × | 1Gbps | 16,500 yen |
Among these, NURO Hikari is by far cheaper and faster than others but it is available only in the city area and your apartment needs to have a specifi device to introduce it.
If NURO Hikari is not available,
docomo users: docomo Hikari
au users: @nifty Hikari or au Hikari
SoftBank user: SoftBnak Hikari
Although the installation work cost is usually very expensive, most company covers that cost if you make a 2 years contract. However, you will need to pay it if you cancell during that term.
Hikari Lines for Home plan
Home plans are shown in this table.
| Monthly Fee | Set Discount | MaximumSpeed | Installation Cost※1 | |
| FLET’S Hikari | 5,720 yen+550 yen～※2 | × | 1Gbps | 20,262 yen |
| @nifty Hikari | 5,060 yen※3 | au | 1Gbps | 19,800 yen |
| docomo Hikari | 5,720 yen | docomo | 1Gbps | 19,800 yen |
| SoftBankHikari | 5,720 yen | SoftBankY!mobile | 1Gbps | 26,400 yen |
| au Hikari | 5,610 yen | au | 1Gbps~10Gbps | 41,250 yen |
| NURO Hikari | 5,217 yen | SoftBank | 2～10Gbps | 44,000 yen |
| BIGLOBE Hikari | 5,478 yen | au | 1Gbps | 33,000 yen |
| OCN Hikari | 5,610 yen | × | 1Gbps | 19,800 yen |
For au users, either @nifty Hikari or au Hikari is recommended because you can get a set discount called “au smart value”, in which you can get a 1,000 yen discount per phone. au Hikari offers you 5Gbps in the city area and is highly recommended for those who seek faster internet.
For SoftBank users, if NURO Hikari is available in your area, just go for it. If not, SoftBank Hikari is most recommended because you will get a set discount, too.
For docomo users, you should go for docomo Hikari because you also get a set discount.
Like apartment-plan, most companies cover the installation cost as long as you make 2 years contract so no need to worry about it.
5 Recommended Hikari Line in Japan
@nifty Hikari
Recommended for au phone users
What makes @nifty HIkari different from is its cheap monthly fee and installation cost.
A normal apartment-plan costs around 4,400 yen while @nifty Hikari only starts from 3,828 yen for the first 2 years. @nifty HIkari uses IPv6 optical lines so the speed and stability of the internet is pretty good.
Moreover, @nifty’s covers a broader area of Japan than au Hikari does.
| Month Fee（apartment-plan） | 3,828 yen |
| Monthly Fee（Home） | 5,060 yen |
| Sign-up fee（only once） | 2,200～3,300 yen |
| Hikari Landline | 550 yen |
| Installation cost(basically free) | apartment：16,500 yenHome：19,800 yen |
| Set Discount | au smart value |
| Cashback | ◯ |
| Maximum Speed | 1Gbps |
| IPv6 | 〇 |
| Area | All over Japan |
Re-installation to a new place is free when the following conditions are met
・You are using @nifty Hikari 3 years plan ( you can change 2 years plan to 3 years plan anytime)
・The new place is in @nifty’s service area
docomo Hikari
docomo users get to 1,100 yen discount
docomo Hikari is owned by NTT docomo, which is one of the biggest internet companies in Japan.
docomo Hikari has a set discount in which you and your family members get 1,100 yen × the number of devices. If you have 4 family members and they all use docomo phones, the discount will be 5,500 yen in total. If you are a docomo user, docomo Hikari is most recommended.
| Monthly Fee（apartment- plan） | 4,400 yen |
| Monthly（Home-plan） | 5,720 yen |
| Sign-up Fee（On） | 3,300 yen |
| Hikari Landline | 550 yen |
| Installation Cost(basically free) | Apartment：16,500 yenHome：19,800 yen |
| Set Discount | docomo smart phone discount |
| Cashback | ◯ |
| Maximum Speed | 1Gbps |
| IPv6 | 〇 |
| Area | All over Japan |
Installation cost is free
As of April, 2021, docomo covers the installation cost for new customers so all you have to pay is 3,300 yen sign-up fee. This promotion might end anytime soon so hurry up.
SoftBank Hikari
SoftBank user cab get a 1,100 yen
With SoftBank Hikari, you can get “Ouchi wari” discount in which up to 1,100 yen will be subtracted from your phone bill. This discount will be applied to your family member’s phones as long as they are SoftBank’s.
If your family has 3 members and they all use SoftBank phones, the discount will be 1,100 yen.
If your phone is Y mobile, you will get 550 yen discount for
| Monthly Fee（apartment-） | 4,180 yen |
| Monthly Fee（Home） | 5,720 yen |
| Sign-up Fee（only once） | 3,300 yen |
| Hikari Landline | 550 yen |
| Installation Cost(basically free) | 26,400 yen |
| Set discount | SoftBankY!Mobile |
| Cashback | ◯ |
| Maximum Speed | 1Gbps |
| IPv6 | 〇 |
| Area | All over Japan |
If you change from other company, you will get a cashback up to 100,000 yen
If you change the internet company to SoftBank, you will get a cash back depending on the installation cost.
In case the installation cost is 26,400 yen, you can choose either 26,400 yen cashback and 1,100円×24months.
In case the installation cost is 10,560 yen, you can choose either 10,560 yen cashback and 1,100円×10months.
Cancellation covered
SoftBank Hikari offers “Anshin Norikae” promotion in which they cover your cancellation fee for other companies up to 100,000 yen. With this promotion, you don’t need to worry when changing the internet company. To get this cash back, keep the receipts for the cancellation fee.
au Hikari
1,100 yen discount for au users
au Hikari is owned by KDDI and has their own optical line over Japan. Since they don’t share it with other companies, the total traffic amount is less likely to be crowed, resulting in faster and more stable connection. In the Tokyo area, the maximum speed for the standard plan is 5Gbps, which is the fastest in Japan as of 2021.
On top of these, if you and your family use au phones, you can get a set discount called “au smart value” in which you can get a 1,100 yen discount per phone.
(If you have 3 family members, you will get 4,400 yen discount)
If you are a au user or looking for a fast internet provider, au Hikari will be your choice.
| Monthly Fee（apartment-plan） | 4,180 yen |
| Monthly Fee（Home） | 5,610 yen |
| Sign-up Fee（Only once） | 3,300 yen |
| Hikari Landline | 550 yen |
| Installation Cost(basically free) | apartment：33,000 yenhome：41,250 yen |
| Set discount | au smart value |
| cashback | ◯ |
| Maximum speed | 1Gbps5Gbps (Tokyo) |
| IPv6 | 〇 |
| Ares | unavailable in some areas |
Area
au Hikari is not available in the following areas
- Chubu : Aichi, Shizuoka, Gihu, Mie
- Kansai：Osaka、Hyogo、Kyoto、Shiga、Nara、Wakayama
- Okinawa
If you live in these areas, you should consider @nifty Hikari because you can also have a set discount with it
Installation Cost is free
au Hikari’s installation cost is basically free as long as you apply for the landline service.
Apartment plan : 1,375 yen × 24 months（＝33,000 yen）
Home plan : max 687 yen × 60months（＝41,250 yen）
will be subtracted from the monthly bill.
NURO Hikari
Fastest Hikari in Japan
NURO Hikari is owned by Sony and offers 2Gbps, which is the fastest internet in Japan ( In the Tokyo area, au Hikari is faster). With NURO Hikari, you will have no problem playing video games and watch videos on the high quality
Besides its speed, NURO Hiakri’s plans are actually very reasonable and you can get a router and a security soft for free. What’s more, if you use a SoftBank phone, you can get a set discount as well.
However, NURO Hikari is only available in Hokkaido, Kanto area, Tokai area, Kansai area, and Okinawa area. They need two installation works so it usually takes more time until you can start using the service.
| Monthly Fee（apartment） | 2,090～2,750 yen |
| Monthyly Fee（Home） | 5,217 yen |
| Sign-up Fee（Only Once） | 3,300 yen |
| Hikari Landline | 550 yen |
| Installation Cost(basically free) | 44,000 yen |
| Set discount | SoftBank |
| Cashback | ◯ |
| Maximum Speed | Apartment：2GbpsHome：2Gbps |
| IPv6 | 〇 |
| Area | Some areas aren’t available |
Area
NURO Hikari is not available in the following areas
- Hokkaido
- Kanto area：Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma
- Tokai area：Aichi, Shizuoka, Gihu, Mie
- Kansai area：Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga, Nara
- Kyushu area：Fukuoka, Saga
Installation Cost
Although NURO Hikari’s installation Cost is 44,000 yen, it will be free when the promotion is applied. However, in order to get this promotion, you will have to use NURO Hikari for 30 months and if you cancel it in the middle of the contract term, you will be required to pay the installation cost depending on the length of remaining months.
Recommended Home routers
SoftBank Air is recommended for those who don’t want to do the installation work or live in an apartment that doesn’t allow the installation work.
It is also recommended for those who plan to move anytime soon or want to use the internet as soon as possible.
SoftBank Air
To start to use SoftBank air, all you have to do is plug the device in and it immediately begins to spread WiFi signal. Within 3 days after the application, you will be able to connect your phone and laptop to the internet.
As of now, SoftBank air offers a promotion called “start wari” in which you can get a 1,188 yen discount every month for the first 12 months
You will have to pay 59,400 yen for the device but it will be reimbursed after 36 months.
| MOnthly Fee | 5,368 yenWith Start wari, 4,180 yen for the first 12 months) |
| sign-up fee（Only Once） | 3,300 yen |
| Set Discount | SoftBank |
| Cashback | ◯ |
| Maximum Speed | 962Mbps |
| Simultaneous Connection | 64 devices |
If you change from other company, you will get a cashback up to 100,000 yen
As with SoftBank Hikari, SoftBank air provides “Anshin Norikae” promotion in which your cancellation fee for other companies will be covered up to 100,000 yen. With this promotion, you don’t need to worry about the cancellation fee when changing the internet company. To get this cash back, keep the receipts for the cancellation fee.
Hikari in Japan
We explained what Hikari is like and 5 recommended Hikari companies in Japan. We hope this article helps you find the best one for you.
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