There were a number of similarities with last week's Vodafone Ireland XV Series opener, as Ireland shot out into a 19-point lead at Dexcom Stadium and then struggled to contain the opposition maul.
Facing into a big wind added to the difficulty for the hosts as a tenacious Japan team made it a five-point game before Béibhinn Parsons' late clinching try.
Lessons had been learned from Tallaght as although a sin-binning again proved costly in terms of points conceded, Scott Bemand's side showed composure to grind out a well-merited 31-24 win.
Parsons' pacy brace provided the attacking highlights, along with Anna McGann's clever work on assists, while the Irish scrum - including Eilís Cahill on her first start - forced five penalties in all.
Brittany Hogan came back in as a starter in the back row, and was unstoppable from close range with a try in each half. She praised the squad effort to get back to winning ways.
"Really proud of the girls, actually. We knew we had to dig in deep. That Japanese team, they just never stop. They're so well drilled team," she said afterwards.
"It was a great game out there, so yeah, we're feeling pretty good now."
Hogan and her team-mates have certainly been bringing the tries of late, and if you look across the calendar year, they are sitting on a current average of five tries per game.
Whether at blindside flanker or number 8, Hogan has really upped the ante in terms of her ball carrying and her effectiveness close to the whitewash.
The 28-year-old has been in prolific form, standing out as Ireland's joint-top try scorer in the 2026 Guinness Women's Six Nations, and is presently on a run of seven tries in six Tests.
She also previously crossed the whitewash at Dexcom Stadium, during April's victory over Italy, and weighed in with doubles at home to Wales and Scotland too.
Modest as ever, she said of yesterday's scores: "Ah yeah, I just try and put the head down and get over the try-line."
Hogan has been involved in all 30 Tests since Bemand took over was head coach in 2023, and she delivered another Vodafone player-of-the-match performance in Galway.
As well as her impact on the scoresheet, the Killinchy native made all 18 of their tackles, just behind Niamh O'Dowd with 20, and made 14 carries - the third most in the team - and one line break.
She was pleased with how Ireland knuckled down after the setbacks of losing captain Erin King to the sin bin and having their lead cut to 19-12. It ended up two tries apiece over the remaining half-an-hour.
"You could see it, it was a tale of two halves as well. We had the wind with us in the first half and we were against it in the second.
"We just had to try and play with it, try and play out of our own half, and you could see it is hard here in the Dexcom (with the conditions like that).
But it is always a great crowd here, and a great place to play. We've got really good memories here."
The home element of the inaugural WXV Global Series is now over for the girls in green, although they will play Japan in Cork next Saturday in a Test match that is outside the series window.
Tickets for the Virgin Media Park encounter with the Sakura Fifteen are on sale here, and it is another valuable opportunity for the group to grow before their upcoming tour to South Africa.
Shoring up their defence, particularly at maul time, will be a key target as they seek back-to-back wins over Japan. They conceded 16 penalties yesterday, with seven at rucks or mauls.
"We just need to come in on ourselves, have a little bit more pride on our try-line. We can't be too soft on our maul 'D'.
"We know that Japan are strong and they are very well-drilled. Yeah, we just need to be better next week on that side," added Hogan.
