Most VPN reviews are written by people who installed the app last Tuesday to hit a publishing deadline. This one is different: I paid for NordVPN for about six years, used it almost daily for a long stretch of that, and eventually cancelled it — not because it failed me, but because my life changed. That’s the most honest vantage point a reviewer can have: no axe to grind, no honeymoon glow.
One more thing that makes this review unusual: I’m writing it from Japan. My use case was the mirror image of yours — I used a VPN to reach videos not available in Japan, while you probably want to reach videos only available in Japan. Same wall, opposite sides. The mechanics are identical.
Why I Subscribed (and Stayed 6 Years)
My reason was simple: there’s a surprising amount of YouTube and online video that’s region-locked away from Japan. Music content, sports clips, shows — the “this video is not available in your country” screen looks exactly as annoying in Japanese as it does in English.
A VPN fixed that, and NordVPN was the one I picked. I stayed six years. You don’t renew something five times if it’s mediocre.
What Was Genuinely Good
Speed and stability. Over six years I almost never thought about my VPN’s speed — which is the highest compliment a VPN can get. Streaming video through both Japanese and overseas servers just worked. Japanese tech reviewers regularly clock NordVPN connections in the hundreds of Mbps, and that matches my experience: with a decent home connection, you stop being able to tell whether the VPN is on.
The app. Pick a country, tap, connected. I used both Japanese servers and overseas servers constantly, and switching between them was a two-second job. My six years spanned many app updates, and it only got smoother.
It never became a chore. This matters more than any spec. Security tools usually demand attention. NordVPN sat in the background and did its job. For six years.
The One Thing That Annoyed Me
Here’s the honest negative, and it’s something spec-sheet reviews never mention:
Some websites refuse connections from VPN servers. Not many — but every so often a shopping site or a service would block me, and the only fix was turning the VPN off, doing the thing, and turning it back on. Every time, the same thought: what’s the point of paying for a VPN if I have to switch it off?
To be fair, this is a websites-blocking-VPNs problem, not a NordVPN problem — every VPN provider plays this cat-and-mouse game. NordVPN was actually better than most at staying unblocked on the big streaming platforms. But if you’re considering any VPN, know that this friction exists. It’s the tax you pay for the technology.
Two other limitations worth knowing (these are well-documented, not from my use): simultaneous connections are capped at 10 devices, and connectivity from mainland China has historically been hit-or-miss.
Why I Cancelled (Honestly)
No drama: I simply stopped watching the geo-blocked content that justified the subscription. My viewing habits changed, the VPN sat unused, and paying for an idle tool made no sense. If my needs returned, I’d re-subscribe without shopping around.
That’s the review in one line: the product never gave me a reason to leave — the need left.
Is NordVPN Right for Watching Japanese Streaming?
Now, your side of the wall. If your goal is TVer, ABEMA, U-NEXT and the other Japanese services we’ve covered, what you need from a VPN is:
- Japanese servers that streaming services don’t block — NordVPN maintains a large fleet of servers in Japan, and keeping them unblocked is exactly the cat-and-mouse game it plays well
- Speed that handles HD video — six years of my own streaming says yes
- An app you won’t fight with — see above
Pricing works like most VPNs: the monthly rate is forgettable, but longer plans drop it to a few dollars a month, and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee — enough time to actually test it against TVer and ABEMA from your country before committing.
👉 Check NordVPN’s current plans and pricing: {{AFF:nordvpn}}
If you want to compare alternatives first, our VPN comparison for Japanese streaming covers the field honestly — including options we have not personally used, clearly labeled as such.
FAQ
Did you use NordVPN’s Japanese servers specifically? Yes, regularly — both Japanese and overseas servers, depending on what I was watching. Japanese server connections were as stable as the rest.
Would you recommend it for a first-time VPN user? Yes — mostly because of the app. The learning curve is close to zero, and the 30-day refund window means a mistake costs you nothing but time.
Does NordVPN work with TVer and ABEMA? VPN-vs-streaming blocking shifts month to month, which is why the refund window matters: test it on the exact services you care about in your first 30 days.
Why trust this review? Six years of my own money, and I’m reviewing it after cancelling. There’s no version of this where I’m sugarcoating a product to keep my own subscription pleasant.
This post contains affiliate links — see our disclosure. My subscription history is real; where I cite specs or third-party measurements rather than my own experience, I’ve said so. Checked June 2026.