Suica Card: What It Is, How to Get One and Where It Works in Japan

You are standing in front of a wall of ticket machines in a Japanese station, a map of colored lines above you and a line of commuters moving past without breaking stride. They tap a card on a gate and are gone. That card is very likely a Suica, and it is the thing that lets a visitor do the same, riding trains and buying a drink on the way.

What is a Suica card?

Suica is a prepaid, rechargeable, contactless smart card that works as a fare card on trains and other public transport in Japan, and as electronic money in shops. It is issued by JR East, the railway company that launched it. You load money onto it, touch it to a reader, and the fare or the price is deducted. There is no need to work out a ticket price before you travel.

Suica belongs to a family called IC cards. The Japan National Tourism Organization describes these cards as usable on trains, buses and boats, as well as in vending machines, convenience stores, some taxis and other services.

Most regions have their own IC cards with different names and characters, yet the cards can be used throughout Japan. So a Suica is not tied to the region where you bought it, and a card from another region can do the same job.

Regular Suica and Welcome Suica

There are two versions a visitor is likely to meet. A regular Suica requires a deposit of 500 yen when you buy it. Welcome Suica is the card made for international tourists, and it requires no deposit.

The trade-off is time. Welcome Suica can only be used for 28 days from the date of purchase, after which it expires permanently. A regular Suica, by contrast, expires ten years after last use. TOURIST PASMO is another IC card for foreign visitors that does not require a deposit, and it comes from the PASMO side of the Tokyo card world.

Other things the card can do

Child versions of Suica charge half fares. The card can also store a commuter pass for a one, three or six-month period along a specified route between two designated stations, which is a feature built for residents rather than visitors. Suica and Welcome Suica also let you use some discount tickets.

The card has a history behind it. Suica officially launched on November 18, 2001, at 424 stations in Japan, run by JR East. Since then it has grown from a station gadget into the everyday wallet of the Japanese rail network.

What happens to the money left on it

The remaining balance on a Suica IC card can be refunded. That is useful to know before you load a large sum, since the money is not simply lost at the end of a trip. Welcome Suica, meanwhile, simply runs out after its 28 days, so it suits a trip that fits inside that window.

How do you get one?

You get a Suica at ticket vending machines or customer service windows, which are found at all JR East train stations. That is the simplest answer, and it means you do not need to arrange anything before you leave home.

At a station, you choose between the two routes. The machines and windows are the places where a regular Suica is sold, and the 500 yen deposit is part of the purchase. A visitor who does not want to deal with a deposit can look for Welcome Suica instead, the version made for international tourists and sold without one.

Choosing between the versions

The decision comes down to how long you will be traveling. Welcome Suica fits a stay that stays within 28 days from the date of purchase, since it then expires permanently. A regular Suica keeps going as long as you keep using it, because it expires ten years after the last use, and its deposit is the price of that longer life.

If you are traveling with a child, the child version of Suica charges half fares. Anyone who wants to look at the details of the visitor cards can find them online: information about Welcome Suica is available on the JR East website, and Welcome Suica Mobile has its own information there too.

The PASMO side

PASMO is the other well-known card in the Tokyo area, and information about PASMO is available on the PASMO website for visitors. TOURIST PASMO, the version for foreign visitors without a deposit, has its own information on the PASMO website as well. Since the IC cards work throughout Japan, a traveler who ends up with one of these rather than a Suica is not at a disadvantage.

Because most IC cards ask for a 500 yen deposit at the time of purchase, the two no-deposit cards for visitors, Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO, stand out as the ones designed with a short visit in mind.

Where does it work?

Suica works across Japan, as part of the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service, on trains, buses and boats and in a long list of shops. In the Greater Tokyo Area it is supported on virtually any train, tramway or bus system. It is a JR East card, yet its reach goes well beyond the company that issues it.

On trains, buses and boats

The core use is transport. You touch the card where you enter and where you leave, and the fare is taken from your balance. Because the IC cards of different regions can be used throughout Japan, the same card carries you from one city to the next without a new purchase.

In shops and at kiosks

Suica is widely used as electronic money for purchases at stores and kiosks, especially at convenience stores, chain restaurants and shops within train stations. Vending machines take it as well, which turns a small balance into a drink on a platform.

Several chains are named as supporting Suica transactions: FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, Lawson, Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera, Doutor Coffee, CoCo Ichibanya and MOS Burger. Many shops at airports accept it too, which makes it a way to spend the last of your balance before a flight.

Good to know before you go

Two small points are worth keeping in mind. The balance on a regular Suica can be refunded, so loading it does not commit you to spending every yen.

A Welcome Suica, on the other hand, expires permanently after 28 days, so it is the one to match to the length of your stay. Carrying a card that works in vending machines, convenience stores and many taxis also means fewer coins to sort through at the register.