Japan IC Cards for Tourists: Suica, Pasmo and Mobile Options

Updated September 7, 2026 · 4 min read · By Japan Travel Planner

An IC card is a rechargeable tap-to-pay card that covers nearly all trains, subways, and buses in Japan's cities — plus vending machines, convenience stores, lockers, and many restaurants. It is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade for a first trip: no fare tables, no ticket machines, just tap in and tap out. Here is how to get one, which one to get, and how the mobile versions work.

The short answer

• iPhone or Apple Watch user? Add a Suica in Apple Wallet before you even fly. It takes two minutes, tops up with Apple Pay, and you never touch a ticket machine.
• Android from the US/Canada? Most non-Japanese Android phones cannot host a Suica. Get a physical card at the airport instead.
• Physical card: buy a regular Suica or Pasmo from machines at the airport or major stations (¥500 deposit, refundable), or a tourist-specific Welcome Suica (no deposit, valid 90 days, no refund of leftover balance) at Haneda, Narita, and major JR stations.

Mobile Suica on iPhone: the best option

Open the Wallet app, tap +, choose Transit Card → Suica, pick an amount, and pay with Apple Pay. Most US and Canadian Visa/Mastercard/Amex cards work for top-ups. Two settings worth knowing:

• Express Transit mode is on by default for transit cards — you tap the gate without unlocking or even waking the phone.
• Suica keeps working from a dead-battery iPhone for a few hours thanks to power reserve on recent models, but don't rely on it; keep a small cash backup.

Top up anytime from the Wallet app in seconds. That alone beats physical cards, which recharge only at machines — and machines take cash only for IC top-ups in most stations.

Physical cards: Suica, Pasmo, Welcome Suica, ICOCA

The differences barely matter in practice: all major IC cards are interoperable nationwide. A Suica bought in Tokyo works on the Osaka subway and a convenience store in Kyoto. Buy whichever card the machine in front of you sells, and don't buy one per city.

Using the card day to day

• Trains and subways: tap the reader at the gate on entry and exit; the fare is calculated automatically. If the gate flashes red, your balance is too low — use a "Fare Adjustment" machine inside the gates, no penalty.
• Buses: in Tokyo, tap once when boarding (flat fare). In Kyoto and many other cities, tap when boarding and again when leaving.
• Shopping: at convenience stores and many chains, say "Suica" (or point at the IC logo) and tap. It is often faster than credit cards.
• Top-up: machines at every station take cash; convenience store registers can also top up physical cards. Keep ¥2,000–3,000 on the card; shinkansen tickets you'll usually buy separately.

What IC cards do not cover

Long-distance shinkansen and limited express rides are separate tickets (buy at machines, counters, or the SmartEX app) — though you can link tickets to an IC card in some systems. A handful of rural lines and some highway buses are cash-only. And IC cards are not a discount: they charge the normal fare. If you are doing a lot of long-distance travel, check whether a rail pass makes sense — for most first trips it doesn't, and an IC card plus point-to-point tickets is the winning combination.

Leaving Japan

Regular Suica/Pasmo: return the card at a JR East (or issuing operator) counter for your ¥500 deposit plus remaining balance, minus a small handling fee on the balance. Welcome Suica: spend it down before you leave — a convenience store run at the airport is the traditional solution. Mobile Suica: just leave it in your Wallet for the next trip; the balance keeps.