How to watch TV Tokyo online from anywhere (with a VPN)

TV Tokyo only works in Japan. Try to access it from anywhere else, and you’ll see the following error:

“This video is restricted from playing in your current geographic region.”

The good news is that by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), anyone can bypass these geo-restrictions. In addition to offering a gateway to TV Tokyo’s rich array of shows, a VPN shields your activities from ISPs, government entities, and local networks.

However, not all VPNs work with TV Tokyo. Like other streaming services, the platform is skilled at blocking the IP addresses of VPN service providers. This is where we come in. By testing a range of VPNs, we’ve found the best options for accessing TV Tokyo. We’ll get into the details of each provider later. For now, let’s start with a summary.

Best VPNs for TV Tokyo:

1. NordVPN: Our top choice for streaming TV Tokyo abroad. This privacy-focused VPN offers cutting-edge security features, a no-logs policy, and fast, reliable connections. 30-day money-back guarantee.
   TIP In our testing we found that the cheapest NordVPN plan (Standard) works perfectly for streaming.
2. Surfshark: Our best budget pick for watching TV Tokyo outside of Japan. A versatile service with no connection limit and speeds fast enough for flawless live streaming.
3. IPVanish: High-speed servers in Tokyo, Japan, for watching TV Tokyo lag-free. Connect as many devices as you like simultaneously. Has a zero-logs policy.
4. ExpressVPN: Offers solid speeds, a great record on privacy and security, excellent unblocking abilities, and servers in 105 countries, including Japan.
5. CyberGhost: With thousands of high-speed servers, and strong security features, CyberGhost makes it easy to watch TV Tokyo abroad or at work.
6. PureVPN: Low-cost access to Japanese TV platforms from abroad. Fast speeds. Works with popular streaming services. 30-day refund policy.
7. ProtonVPN: A highly advanced VPN that is perfect for torrenting. Fast Japanese servers work to watch TV Tokyo abroad or at work.
8. Hotspot Shield: High-speed Japanese servers and powerful security features make Hotspot Shield a great choice for streaming TV Tokyo from anywhere.
9. PrivateVPN: A zero-logs provider with low-cost subscriptions and effective obfuscation. Strong on security and capable of accessing TV Tokyo, Netflix US, and more.

How to watch TV Tokyo from abroad with a VPN

Don’t worry: it’s easy to change your location and unblock content with a VPN. Below is a step-by-step guide for watching TV Tokyo abroad – or on a restricted network.

Here’s how to watch TV Tokyo online from anywhere:

1. Start by signing up for a VPN if you haven’t already. All of the services below are good choices, but we particularly recommend NordVPN.
2. Download the VPN app and install it on any device you’d like to stream on. When you’re ready, log in.
3. Connect to one of your VPN’s Japanese servers, this will give you the Japanese IP address you need to bypass TV Tokyo’s geographic restrictions.
4. Visit the TV Tokyo website. If you’d like to watch premium-only content, you’ll have to sign in, although this service also offers plenty of free-to-watch shows.
5. Finally, try playing a video. It should begin right away, but if not, you can fix most issues by clearing your browser’s cookies and reloading the page.

Best VPNs for watching TV Tokyo from anywhere compared

We’ve tested and compared the most important features of the top VPNs here. Prefer to read the in-depth reviews? Start with NordVPN – our #1 choice for accessing TV Tokyo outside Japan.

Best VPNs for watching TV Tokyo outside of Japan

Below, we’ve included the most important criteria we used when testing VPNs for TV Tokyo:

• Server availability: To access Tokyo TV, you’ll need an IP address in Japan. We found VPNs with multiple Japanese server locations, while also testing their ability to access geo-restricted streaming services like Tokyo TV, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
• Speed: The last thing you want is endless buffering while trying to watch TV Tokyo, which is why we speed-test each provider’s servers in Japan before making any recommendations.
• Security and privacy: To find the VPNs able to keep your online activities hidden from potentially malicious third parties, we used 16 different security and privacy metrics.
• Ease of use: We looked for VPNs with user-friendly services that make accessing Tokyo TV as painless as possible. We differentiated between providers using 10 different metrics.
• Value for money: To find you the best deals, we used a total of eight metrics. These look beyond simple subscription-fee comparisons to examine things like the length of money-back guarantees and any introductory offers.

You can learn more about our VPN testing methodology later in the article. For now, let’s jump right in and take a closer look at the ones that made the grade.

Here’s our list of the best VPNs for streaming TV Tokyo abroad:

1. NordVPN

Jun 2025 unblocks tv tokyoTested Jun 2025

NordVPN is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys streaming. To begin with, it boasts a huge network, with over 7,400 servers in 118 countries (and over 130 in Japan alone).

It’s able to access major platforms, including TV Tokyo, Abema TV, Netflix Japan, and Hulu Japan, from anywhere in the world. Its speeds are fast enough for 4K streaming, and just about anything else that you can think of. In our tests, it averaged 190.94 Mbps, which was more than 52 Mbps faster than the combined average speeds of the other tested providers.

We particularly like that this VPN puts a major emphasis on security. All of the key features are included: 256-bit encryption, protection against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks, and a customizable kill switch. That’s not all, though: NordVPN also offers a malware scanner, ad-blocker, and access to special obfuscated servers for even greater privacy. This service follows a strict no-logs policy. If you need help, live chat is available 24/7.

NordVPN provides apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux. Up to 10 simultaneous connections are permitted. Some routers are also supported, although the service will have to be manually installed.

BEST VPN FOR TV TOKYO:NordVPN is our #1 choice. It lets you access TV Tokyo, Netflix Japan, and more from abroad. Better still, its advanced security features and no-logging policy ensure that you can do so safely. NordVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

For more information, check out the full NordVPN review.

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2. Surfshark

unblocks tv tokyoTested Jun 2025

Surfshark’s exceptional accessibility makes it easy to watch all your favorite shows, whether they’re on TV Tokyo, Netflix Japan, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu.

Plus, it’s fast enough to stream live HD video without any noticeable lag. While connected to its servers in Japan, we recorded speeds of between 181.39 Mbps and 186.36 Mbps. This consistency means you’ll have a similarly good quality experience whenever you connect. 

Best of all, this service allows you to connect as many devices as you like, which makes it perfect for large households.

This provider keeps you safe using 256-bit encryption, a built-in ad-blocker and malware scanner, a kill switch, and protection against DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 leaks. It also boasts a NoBorders mode for unblocking country-wide internet restrictions and a split-tunneling feature that lets certain apps or websites bypass the VPN entirely. Surfshark doesn’t store any personally identifiable data. Need help? Support is on-hand 24/7 via live chat.

Surfshark apps are available for macOS, Android, Windows, iOS, and Linux devices. It also works with select network routers, but you’ll have to configure it manually.

BEST BUDGET CHOICE:Surfshark offers unlimited connections, fast speeds, and strong security. It also unlocks stubborn platforms like TV Tokyo with ease from anywhere. Still not convinced? This service offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Check out our comprehensive Surfshark review.

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3. IPVanish

Unblocks TV TokyoTested Jun 2025  

IPVanish offers more than 2,400 servers in 140+ locations. This includes 75 servers in Tokyo and Osaka.

Not only can you use this VPN to watch TV Tokyo, but it also works well with Japanese TV such as Lemino, WOWOW, and NHK. You can even use IPVanish to access Netflix Japan from abroad securely.

In our speed tests, IPVanish averaged 164.17 Mbps. This makes it particularly suitable for streaming as well as torrenting and video calling.

With your IPVanish account, there’s no limit to the number of devices you can connect at the same time. Once connected, your internet traffic is routed through a 256-bit AES encrypted tunnel for maximum security. There’s also a kill switch feature and protection from DNS leaks. You don’t need to worry about identifying data being sold or stolen because IPVanish also operates a strict no-logs policy.

IPVanish apps can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Amazon Fire TV. However, it doesn’t offer any browser extensions, while manual setup is required to use it with Linux and compatible Wi-Fi routers.

STREAMING-FRIENDLY:IPVanish is compatible with Japanese TV such as TV Tokyo as well as Netflix Japan. Very fast with the option to connect all of your devices at once. Zero-logs policy and 24/7 support. Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full IPVanish review.

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4. ExpressVPN

unblocks tv tokyoTested Jun 2025

ExpressVPN works particularly well with TV Tokyo thanks to its reliable, high-speed connections and excellent unblocking ability. In fact, with more than 3,000 servers covering 105 countries, including four server locations in Japan (Tokyo, Shibuya, Yokohama, Osaka), you’ll be able to access platforms like Netflix Japan, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu as well.

Its speeds during testing averaged 123.43 Mbps. This makes it suitable for streaming Tokyo TV in the highest resolution available on several devices at the same time.

This service doesn’t skimp when it comes to security. It protects you against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks, hides your traffic with 256-bit AES encryption, and ensures you never have to browse unprotected with a built-in kill switch.

ExpressVPN doesn’t log any data that could be used to identify you. If you’d like, you can pay in Bitcoin for another layer of privacy. Customer support is on-hand 24/7 via live chat and email.

ExpressVPN offers novice-friendly iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux apps. It permits up to eight connections at once, though there’s custom router firmware which makes it fairly simple to protect all of your devices at once.

FAST STREAMING:ExpressVPN offers the perfect blend of security, unblocking ability, and ease of use, making it ideal for anyone who wants to live stream TV Tokyo outside of Japan. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Why not read our complete ExpressVPN review?

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6. PureVPN

Unblocks TV TokyoTested Jun 2025

PureVPN is a highly affordable and versatile solution that will suit Japanese expats, Japanese travelers, and even students learning Japanese around the globe. Its extensive network of over 6,000 servers spanning 65+ countries includes servers in Japan that easily work to watch Tokyo TV, Asahi, TVer, and more. It also unlocks Netflix Japan and a long list of international streaming services.

PureVPN offers reliable download speeds when using the default WireGuard protocol. In our tests, the provider averaged 137.51 Mbps, with a difference of just 3.94 Mbps between the slowest and fastest results.

With robust security features like AES encryption, a kill switch, DNS leak prevention, and a strict no-logging policy, PureVPN safeguards your online activities, making it safe to use public Wi-Fi in airports, hotels, and cafes.

While customer support response times can be sluggish, PureVPN’s reliability and low cost still make it hard to beat. You can check it out yourself using its 31-day money-back guarantee.

GOOD VALUE:PureVPN is a low-cost VPN that is perfect for accessing home services on vacation. It has servers in over 65 countries, including Japan to watch Tokyo TV, TVer, FOD, Hulu, and many other Japanese services. Robust privacy and security features. Fast WireGuard protocol and apps for all platforms. 31-day money-back guarantee.

Find out more in our PureVPN review.

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7. ProtonVPN

Unblocks TV TokyoTested Jun 2025

ProtonVPN is highly reliable for Japanese citizens wanting to stream on vacation. Developed by the team behind ProtonMail and headquartered in Switzerland, it boasts a strong reputation for security and privacy, ensuring your online activities remain confidential with its strict no-logs policy.

ProtonVPN is highly advanced and offers many useful features you don’t get with most competing VPNs. These include port forwarding, multi-hop connections, a stealth protocol, and Tor over VPN. This makes it useful for bypassing online censorship and surveillance in countries with stringent regulations.

Although it might not be the cheapest option, it has approximately 79 Japanese servers that work to watch Hulu Japan, Netflix Japan, Amazon Prime Video Japan, U-NEXT, and AbemaTV. It is also highly reliable for torrenting and works to access international services. This makes it an impressive all-rounder that is worth a few extra bucks.

The provider is also very quick. In our tests, it averaged 143.74 Mbps — which is fast enough for interruption-free streaming, gaming or torrenting.

If you have any questions about using or installing the VPN, you can contact its 24/7 live chat support. You can also test it risk-free using its money-back guarantee. Besides being highly secure, this VPN offers port forwarding, which makes it valuable for torrenting. For those seeking to stay connected to Japanese TV services while traveling internationally, ProtonVPN stands as an excellent choice.

ADVANCED AND SECURE:ProtonVPN is an impressive, high-quality VPN that has more than 12,000 servers in 117 countries. Works with many popular streaming services. Strong AES encryption and a kill switch. Easy to use on all devices. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Find out more in our ProtonVPN review.

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8. Hotspot Shield

unblocks tv tokyoTested Jun 2025

Hotspot Shield offers access to 1,800+ servers in more than 80 countries, including Japan. It works well with TV Tokyo and its dedicated streaming servers in the UK and US enable access to BBC iPlayer and Hulu.

Speed-wise, the provider averaged 80.30 Mbps. This is fast enough for streaming in 4K on three devices at the same time.

Hotspot Shield has a ten-connection limit, allowing you to stream at home and on the move.

This service uses 256-bit encryption to keep your traffic hidden at all times. There’s also protection against IPv6 and DNS leaks, a kill switch, and the option to connect automatically any time you use an unsecured network. Hotspot Shield doesn’t store any information that could identify you once your session is over. If you have any issues, you can reach support over 24/7 live chat.

The provider has apps for iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows, plus it can be manually installed on select wireless routers.

EFFECTIVE OBFUSCATION:Hotspot Shield makes it easy to watch TV Tokyo abroad thanks to its secure Japanese servers, powerful security features, and strong unblocking capabilities. This service comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Read the full review of Hotspot Shield.

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9. PrivateVPN

unblocks tv tokyoTested Jun 2025

PrivateVPN has around 200 servers spread across 63 countries — including Japan. Its exceptional unblocking ability means you’ll be able to watch all of your favorite streaming services (including TV Tokyo) from abroad.

In our speed tests, the provider averaged 51.74 Mbps. While slower than the other tested providers, it’s nevertheless still quick enough for streaming Tokyo TV in 4K. 

If you need a speed boost, PrivateVPN is one of the few VPNs that allows you to reduce the level of encryption used on your traffic.

This VPN keeps your activities hidden at all times using 256-bit encryption, DNS and IPv6 leak protection, and an app-specific kill switch that stops sending data the second your connection drops. It also offers a stealth mode that helps you bypass more stubborn VPN-blocking measures. PrivateVPN is a zero-logs provider, so your privacy is in good hands. Live chat-based support is available 22 hours per day in case of any issues.

PrivateVPN allows up to 10 simultaneous device connections and has simple, easy-to-use apps for Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. If you’d prefer, you can manually install it on your home router.

NO LOGGING:PrivateVPN has all of the security and privacy tools you need for near-total anonymity. It also works to stream TV Tokyo, Hulu Japan, and Netflix Japan. This VPN includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.

We take a closer look at this service in our full PrivateVPN review.

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Our Methodology: Choosing the best VPNs for TV Tokyo

It pays to do a little research before deciding which VPN to use. The problem is that every service is different, and not all of them are well-suited to streaming Japanese TV from abroad. To make sure we only recommend VPNs that truly excel, we identified several key areas for testing:

Server availability

Without Japanese servers, you won’t be able to stream TV Tokyo. We scored providers on the number of server locations they had in Japan, as this gives an indication of how many servers they have in the country. We also scored each VPN on its compatibility with a range of streaming platforms. In addition to TV Tokyo, this included notoriously difficult-to-access services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.

The scores for the above were weighted and then combined to generate an overall score out of 10 for each provider. This makes a side-by-side comparison easier.

ExpressVPN’s score of 9.7 was the highest. The provider has servers in Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, and it worked with every streaming platform that we tried it with. NordVPN and IPVanish also scored highly.

Speed

As live streaming is fairly data-intensive, VPNs need to be suitably quick. To find which providers’ Japanese servers were fastest, we carried out multiple speed tests over the course of a day.

To simulate the experience of the average user, we rate-limited the connection speed of our test machine to 250 Mbps (which is a little slower than the median fixed broadband speed in the US). Measurements were taken using the desktop version of the Ookla speed-testing app.

The results for each provider were averaged and then converted to a score out of 10 relative to the other tested VPNs. This makes a meaningful comparison possible.

NordVPN was the fastest provider overall. Surfshark also performed notably well. Both providers are fast enough for streaming TV Tokyo in 4K on multiple devices simultaneously.

Security and privacy

We require VPNs to have, at a bare minimum, uncrackable encryption, a kill switch, and protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks. However, as the table below demonstrates, we’d like to see providers go further — whether it’s with a stealth mode or even their own protocol.

If the terms used above don’t mean much to you, the following chart combines the results of each test metric into a more palatable format.

NordVPN and Surfshark were the highest-scoring providers overall. Both VPNs use strong encryption and RAM-only servers. Their obfuscation works in the most restrictive of countries, and their no-logs policies have been independently audited multiple times.

Ease of use

The services above should be easy enough for anyone to use, and should have apps for all major operating systems. As the table below demonstrates, we’re ideally looking for VPNs with no connection limits and 24/7 support too, since these make things even easier for novices.

To make it easier to directly compare providers, we combined the scores from the above test metrics.

NordVPN scored 9.6 and was the easiest-to-use provider overall. Its sign-up and cancellation processes are straightforward and its apps come with useful features like task-specific servers. IPVanish and ExpressVPN are also great options for users who are new to VPN software.

Value for money

Some providers are unreasonably expensive for the functionality they offer. This just isn’t good enough. We only recommend competitively-priced VPNs that also offer deals, trials, or generous money-back guarantees.

As before, we combined the scores for each of the above metrics to make a direct comparison possible.

Surfshark’s score of 9.7 was highest. It allows unlimited device connections and has great-value two-year introductory offers. IPVanish was the next highest-scoring provider. It, too, has no connection limit and two-year subscription deals (albeit marginally more expensive ones).

TV Tokyo stats

According to Statista, as of 2024, TV Tokyo employs 1,650 people. The company generated $1.01bn in 2024, according to The Financial Times.

In terms of programming, some of the newest shows on TV Tokyo in 2024 include: Bucchigiri?!, The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil, and Mr. Villain’s Day Off.

TV Tokyo VPN FAQs