Friends who frequently travel to Japan have probably experienced this: Shinkansen trips often take one or two hours, and without an unlimited data plan, the journey on the Shinkansen can be very boring. KDDI’s online-only plan povo2.0 has partnered with JR East to launch a promotion starting September 18: simply book a Shinkansen e-ticket through Ekinet and link it to Suica to ride, and the mobile data “3-hour unlimited” will be automatically applied after you pass through the ticket gate, with no limit on the number of times. This follows the “povo Data OasisAfter that, KDDI tied mobile data directly to railway services for the second time.
JR East teams up with povo to offer 3 hours of free unlimited mobile data with Shinkansen e-tickets
This event can be fully automated thanks to what JR East provides. Touch Trigger（タッチトリガー）Service. JR East describes this service as being able to use the moment a passenger taps Suica in real time, detecting it the instant the passenger enters or exits the ticket gate, so that businesses can provide a service to the corresponding passenger at that moment. Passengers do not need to open an app or enter any redemption code; about 5 to 10 minutes after passing through the ticket gate, the offer appears in their account. The technical barrier is hidden in the backend, and the only front-end action is: tap Suica.
How to apply for three hours of free mobile internet
The first step is to book a Shinkansen e-ticket through Ekinet, and the train must depart from a station within JR East’s jurisdiction. Reservations can be made from 10 a.m. one month before the travel date. If you use the “Ekinet Advance Request,” you can apply one week earlier at 2 p.m., but seat assignments are not processed until one month before, so seats are not guaranteed.
The second step is to link the Suica ID tied to the ticket to your povo2.0 account in the povo2.0 App. This step must be completed 20 minutes before boarding the Shinkansen. The App’s linking function will be available starting August 18, and each povo account can be linked to only one Suica ID.
The third step is to pass through the Shinkansen ticket gates using your linked Suica or Mobile Suica; only then can you proceed to board. There is no need to do a fourth step—the discount will be automatically applied to the povo account you use.
The campaign runs from the first train on September 18, 2026, through the last train on December 17, spanning three months. There is no limit to the number of giveaways during the campaign, and it can be used multiple times in a single day, but multiple offers cannot be applied at the same time. Eligible stations are the 55 Shinkansen stations within JR East’s jurisdiction, from Tokyo and Ueno all the way to Akita, covering commonly used stations on the Tohoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen, Akita Shinkansen, Joetsu Shinkansen, and Hokuriku Shinkansen.
Several stations on the list are especially useful for Taiwanese travelers. Morioka and Shin-Aomori are gateways to Aomori and Hachinohe, Yamagata and Joetsu-Myoko are the starting points of the Yamagata Shinkansen and Joetsu Shinkansen respectively, and Karuizawa and Nagano are common destinations for Kanto residents heading to ski resorts. Niigata, Tsubame-Sanjo, and Urasa are all on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line.
Ekinet itself is an online service provided by JR East. In addition to JR tickets, it also lets you book JR travel packages and car rentals at stations. For JR tickets, you can purchase passenger tickets and limited express tickets for JR lines nationwide, and you can reserve, change, and purchase reserved seats on Shinkansen and limited express trains online.
Mobile data itself comes from KDDI’s au network, and povo2.0 uses au’s high-speed 5G network. The plan’s billing flexibility is its biggest difference from typical unlimited data plans: in addition to bundle purchases and monthly plans, povo2.0 also offers options such as short-term unlimited mobile data, so users can add data when needed based on actual usage without being tied to a fixed allowance long term. The plan also supports partner add-ons (toppings), allowing users to purchase other companies’ products together with povo mobile data as a discounted bundle.
Ekinet Official Website
Three limitations that are easy to run into.
Although this promotion can be used simply by purchasing a JR East Shinkansen ticket, there are still three restrictions:
First, the discount only applies to tickets departing from the above 55 stations. It does not apply to segments from Shin-Aomori Station to areas within JR Hokkaido’s jurisdiction, and segments from Joetsu-Myoko Station to areas within JR West’s jurisdiction are likewise excluded.
Second, there is a caveat to “unlimited.” KDDI notes in its explanation that communication speeds may be restricted during network congestion or when using services such as video and cloud gaming. In other words, if you use this offer to stream 4K in a car, actual speeds are not guaranteed.
Third, povo2.0 itself is an online-only plan with a base monthly fee of 0 yen. KDDI notes that continued use beyond 180 days requires meeting certain conditions; in the 0-yen, 0GB state, the maximum communication speed is 128kbps. If you choose only the mobile data plan, you must first purchase a topping at sign-up. It is also only three hours and is mainly intended for Japanese travelers who do not have an unlimited roaming plan.
Source: KOCPC Chinese