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Suica & IC Cards

One card for trains, buses, konbini, vending machines, lockers.

Buy a card at the airport. Tap everywhere else.

Which card

Default: physical Suica or PASMO. ¥500 deposit, refundable on return.

For iPhone: Mobile Suica in Apple Wallet, set up before you fly. Welcome Suica Mobile (launched March 2025) can be issued pre-arrival — no deposit, 28-day validity.

For Android: physical IC, with one exception. Phones sold inside Japan support Mobile Suica. Phones sold outside Japan mostly don’t. Samsung adds broader support around 2027 — until then, plan for a physical card.

Tourist PASMO (launched May 2026, sold at Narita and Haneda; ¥2,000 fixed at NRT, choice of amounts at HND) and Welcome Suica are the no-deposit tourist variants. If you’d rather skip the refund line on departure day, get one of those.

Where to buy

  • Narita (NRT): JR East Travel Service Center, Terminals 1 and 2 arrivals.
  • Haneda (HND): JR East and Tokyo Monorail counters, international and domestic.
  • Kansai (KIX): ICOCA at the JR West counter. Same system, works nationwide.

Anonymous (non-personalized) Suica and PASMO sales resumed March 1, 2025 after a two-year suspension. Availability can still vary day-to-day at smaller stations. If the airport counter is sold out, the next major JR station will have stock.

Suica vs ICOCA vs the rest

Suica, PASMO, ICOCA are the three you’ll see at counters. The rest interoperate the same way. Suica works in Osaka. ICOCA works in Tokyo. The card you buy first is the card you keep using.

The only real difference is which feels native — Suica reads more naturally on Tokyo signage, ICOCA on Kansai signage. Functionally identical.

What it does

Tap to ride trains and buses nationwide. Tap to pay at konbini (Lawson, 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Ministop). Tap to buy from vending machines marked with the IC logo. Tap to open coin lockers at major stations.

A few smaller bus lines and Shinkansen long-distance fares don’t accept IC. If a gate beeps red, balance is short — top up at the in-station machine before exiting.

Loading money

  • Station ticket machines with IC support. ¥1,000 minimum, cash only on most.
  • Konbini registers. “Suica chaaji, onegaishimasu” (チャージ, お願いします).
  • Apple Pay refills for Mobile Suica — works anywhere with signal.

Refunds

Physical Suica/PASMO: return at any JR (Suica) or major private rail (PASMO) station. ¥500 deposit comes back. A ¥220 handling fee is deducted from your remaining balance. If your balance is under ¥220, you still get the full deposit back — the fee just caps at whatever’s left.

Welcome Suica and Tourist PASMO are non-refundable, but there’s no deposit to refund — wash.

If you skip the refund, the card stays valid for 10 years from last use. Keep it for the next trip.