At a ticket gate in a Tokyo station, a traveler lays a small card flat against a reader, a soft chime sounds and the barrier opens. A few minutes later the same card pays for a rice ball at the convenience store and a bottle of tea from a vending machine. That card is an IC card, a rechargeable contactless smart card, and the names to know are Suica, Pasmo and ICOCA, along with Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO, which were made for foreign visitors.
What are IC cards?
An IC card is a rechargeable, contactless card that you touch to a reader to pay for trains, buses and small purchases in Japan. You load money onto it, touch it at the gate or the register, and the fare or the price comes off the balance. There is no need to work out a fare from a map before you board, because the amount is deducted when you pass through the exit gate.
The cards go by different names and carry different characters, since most regions have their own. Even so, they work throughout Japan, so a card bought in one city keeps working when you travel to another.
Trains, buses and boats
The core use is transport. IC cards work on trains, on buses and on boats, which means a single card can carry you from a subway platform to a local bus stop to a ferry landing without a new ticket at each step. Tickets from vending machines still exist, but the card lets you skip them.
The habit is simple. You touch in when you enter, touch out when you leave, and glance at the small display on the gate, which shows what you paid and what is left. When the balance runs low, you top up at a machine in the station and carry on.
Deposits and balances
Most IC cards ask for a 500 yen deposit when you buy them, on top of whatever money you load. That deposit is the reason regular cards feel like something you keep, and it is why the visitor versions exist. Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO are IC cards for foreign visitors that do not require a deposit.
The remaining balance on a Suica can be refunded, according to JR East. That matters if you end a trip with money still on the card. JR East publishes the details for Welcome Suica and Welcome Suica Mobile on its website, and the PASMO website carries the information for TOURIST PASMO and regular Pasmo.
One card, many cities
The system works nationwide because the regional cards recognize one another. A Suica from Tokyo can be tapped in other major cities, and an ICOCA from the Osaka area can be tapped in Tokyo. For a traveler this means you do not need to match the card to the city you happen to be in, and you do not need a different card for every stop on a route.
There is one limit to keep in mind. IC cards cannot be used to travel between two different regions, for example from JR East’s Suica region to JR Central’s TOICA region. Within each region the card works as usual, and the cards still pay for shopping everywhere.
Which cards are there?
Three regional names cover most of what visitors see, Suica, Pasmo and ICOCA, and two cards are aimed at foreign visitors, Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO. All of them are rechargeable and contactless, and they differ mostly in where they are sold and who runs them.
| Card | Home area | Launched |
|---|---|---|
| Suica | JR East | November 18, 2001 |
| Pasmo | Tokyo | March 18, 2007 |
| ICOCA | JR West (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) | November 1, 2003 |
Suica
Suica is the card run by JR East. It is a prepaid, rechargeable, contactless smart card and electronic money system, used as a fare card on train lines and other public transport. It launched at 424 stations, and today it works as part of the nationwide network, including on virtually any train, tram or bus system in the Greater Tokyo Area.
Suica cards are sold at ticket vending machines or customer service windows at all JR East train stations. A child version charges half fares, and a Suica may also store a commuter pass for a set route between two designated stations. Welcome Suica, the version for international tourists, is described below.
Pasmo
Pasmo is the other big card of the Tokyo region. It is used mainly for public transport in Tokyo, and it is sold at Tokyo Metro stations, Toei Subway stations and private railways in the Tokyo area. Since its launch, Pasmo and JR East’s Suica have been interchangeable on nearly any railway, metro or bus in the Tokyo metropolitan area, so which of the two you hold rarely changes your day.
Pasmo also reaches beyond the capital. It could be used on JR East lines in the Kanto, Niigata and Sendai areas, and on the Tokyo Monorail, the Rinkai Line, the New Shuttle in Saitama and Sendai Airport Transit, among others. A phone version, Mobile Pasmo, arrived in March 2020 and relies on the Osaifu-Keitai function of Japanese phones.
ICOCA
ICOCA is the card of the JR West rail network, a rechargeable contactless card that began on the Urban Network of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, the area known as Keihanshin. Since March 2013 it can be used in major cities across Japan through the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service, so the card from Kansai also taps through the gates in Tokyo.
A children’s version, kodomo ICOCA, comes with discounted fares. ICOCA cards may only be returned at JR West stations, which is worth knowing before you leave the Kansai area with a card in your wallet.
Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO
These two are built for people visiting from abroad, and neither asks for a deposit. Welcome Suica is a JR East card, and its limited life is the trade-off for skipping the deposit. TOURIST PASMO is its counterpart on the Pasmo side.
| Card | Valid for |
|---|---|
| Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA | Ten years after last use |
| Welcome Suica | 28 days from the date of purchase, then it expires permanently |
What can you use them for?
You can use them for transit first, then for small purchases at stores, vending machines and some taxis. Travelers find that the card ends up in their hand more often at a counter than at a gate.
Transit, from city rail to local buses
In the Tokyo area, Suica supports virtually any train, tram or bus system, and Pasmo does the same through the shared arrangement. Outside the capital, the cards are accepted in major cities across the country, which is why a single card can follow you from a Kansai commuter line to a city bus elsewhere.
Suica and Welcome Suica also let you use some discount tickets. The nationwide network is the reason a card from one region does not feel like a local ticket, though the rule on crossing between regions stays in force, and the cards cannot carry you between two different regions.
Convenience stores, chains and vending machines
Suica is widely used as electronic money at stores and kiosks, especially convenience stores, chain restaurants and shops inside train stations. Chains that support it include FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, Lawson, Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera, Doutor Coffee, CoCo Ichibanya and MOS Burger. Pasmo, too, works as a payment card for vending machines and stores.
That means a coffee at a Doutor counter, a curry at CoCo Ichibanya or a burger at MOS Burger can be settled with the same touch you use at the gate. The cards also pay at vending machines, the glowing rows of drink machines that stand on station platforms and street corners.
Taxis and airport shops
Many shops at airports, and taxis throughout Japan, also accept Suica payment. IC cards can be used in some taxis and for other services, so a ride at the end of an evening or a last souvenir before a flight can use up what is left on the card.
Spending the balance down before you leave is a natural habit, and the refund option for a Suica balance gives you another route. A regular card keeps its value for a long time, so a card that stays in a drawer can be used again on the next trip.
Children, commuters and long stays
Child versions of Suica charge half fares, and kodomo ICOCA offers discounted fares for children as well. For someone staying longer in one area, a Suica may store a commuter pass for one, three or six months along a specified route between two designated stations.
A regular Suica, Pasmo or ICOCA suits a traveler who may come back, because the balance stays valid long after the last tap.
Good to know before you go
In Tokyo, most trains do not run in the early morning hours from 1:00 to 5:00, and the Shinkansen never runs overnight, so a late evening is the moment when the card’s balance and your plans for getting back matter. If a train is delayed, passengers can apply for a delay certificate from the station or the rail company’s website. Keep the card where you can reach it quickly, since the gate and the register both ask for the same quick touch.
Sources
- Japan National Tourism Organization, IC cards, Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA, how to use (https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/ic-card/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, ICOCA (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICOCA), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Pasmo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasmo), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Suica (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suica), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Rail travel in Japan (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Rail_travel_in_Japan), checked October 11, 2026
- JR East, Welcome Suica (https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/welcomesuica/), checked October 11, 2026
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