IC Cards for Visitors: Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA, and the 2023 Compatibility Changes
IC cards for visitors are rechargeable prepaid cards that pay for trains, buses, and small retail purchases across Japan with a single tap.12 One card is enough for almost every trip, and choosing wrong costs little because the major cards work interchangeably nationwide.34
Fees, rules, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at JR East, JR West, PASMO, and JNTO official pages.
Overview
A 交通系ICカード (kotsukei IC kado, "transportation IC card") is a contactless stored-value card: you load yen onto it, tap it at ticket gates and shop readers, and the fare or price is deducted automatically.15 It covers trains, subways, buses, and monorails plus e-money spending at convenience stores, vending machines, station shops, and coin lockers wherever the operator marks are displayed.56
The name on the card matters less than most guides suggest. Ten regional cards share the 全国相互利用サービス (zenkoku sogo riyo sabisu, "Nationwide Mutual Usage Service"), so a Suica bought in Tokyo works in Osaka and an ICOCA bought in Kansai works in Tokyo.34 That mutual system launched March 23, 2013, not 2023; 2023 is the year JR East and PASMO suspended most physical card sales during the global chip shortage, with unrestricted sales resuming March 1, 2025 (as of 2025-02; confirm current figures with JR East).78 Personalized card sales had already resumed in September 2024, and the old PASMO PASSPORT tourist card was discontinued rather than restocked (as of 2025-02).83
This article covers what the cards are, how the three main brands differ, how to get one now, and how top-ups work. How to ride with a card (tapping in and out, fare calculation) belongs to the transportation category and is not duplicated here.
What an IC Card Is and Where It Works
An IC card holds prepaid yen as 電子マネー (denshi mane, "electronic money") and deducts the exact fare or price on each tap, so you never buy a paper ticket per ride.15 The same balance pays for trains, buses, vending-machine drinks, convenience-store food, and station coin lockers.69
Physical cards top up with yen cash only; machines and counters do not accept credit cards for charging a plastic Suica or Welcome Suica (as of 2026-09; confirm current top-up terms with JR East).510 Machine top-ups come in 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen increments, and no card can hold more than 20,000 yen at once (as of 2026-09).5
Stored value for transit and small retail purchases
Stored value means the yen sits on the card itself, not in a bank account, and each tap subtracts from it instantly.5 When the balance runs low, you recharge at ticket machines, fare-adjustment machines, station counters, convenience stores, or Seven Bank ATMs.5109
Welcome Suica shares the same 20,000 yen ceiling at designated machines and Seven Bank ATMs (as of 2026-09).10 In-app and Apple Wallet top-ups are the only cash-free charging routes, and they apply to mobile cards only.1112
Nationwide interoperability and its honest limits
The ten interoperable cards are Suica, Kitaca, PASMO, manaca, TOICA, PiTaPa, ICOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca, and SUGOCA.3 Any one of them rides participating railways and buses and pays at participating shops nationwide wherever the IC mark appears.134
Limits are real and worth knowing before you plan around the card. A card cannot carry you across an area boundary in one continuous ride: a trip begun in the Tokyo metropolitan area must end there, so Tokyo to Sendai on card fare alone is rejected at the gate (as of 2026-09).56 ICOCA adds its own ceiling rules, including no use on Shinkansen trains and no trips over 200 km inside its area except in the Osaka suburban zone and specified limited-express cases.4
Area-boundary crossings reject the card and need staff to unwind. For intercity legs across operator lines, buy a separate ticket or Shinkansen e-ticket instead of tapping through.54
Retail acceptance is also per establishment, not universal. A shop, vending machine, or rural bus accepts the card only if it displays the IC or operator mark; some rural lines, long-distance buses, and the Kanto Railway and Chiba Monorail (Suica and PASMO only) sit outside the general rule.133 PiTaPa participates in transit mutual use but is excluded from nationwide e-money use, so it is not a visitor option.34
Suica vs Pasmo vs ICOCA: What Actually Differs
For daily use the three brands are functionally identical inside the mutual-use network; they differ in issuer, home region, purchase points, and deposit and refund terms.313 Pick by arrival airport and phone, not by brand loyalty.
Suica (JR East)
Suica is issued by JR East and is the card Tokyo arrivals meet first; its home area spans the Tokyo metropolitan region plus Sendai, Niigata, Aomori, Morioka, Akita, and parts of Hokkaido, Tokai, West Japan, Kyushu, and Okinawa.5 A new adult or child card costs 1,000 to 10,000 yen including a 500-yen deposit, and the deposit comes back when you return the card (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with JR East).5
Refunds return the deposit plus the remaining balance minus a 220-yen handling fee, and the full deposit comes back even when the balance cannot cover the fee (as of 2026-09).5 A Suica left unused for 10 years becomes invalid, though the balance can transfer to a new card or be refunded.5 Returns go only to JR East stations; cards from other issuers go back to their own companies.5
Pasmo (Tokyo private railways and subway)
PASMO comes from the private-railway and subway network (Tokyo Metro, Toei Subway, and private lines) and interoperates nationwide under the same exceptions as Suica.3 Its lineup includes blank, personalized, child, and commuter variants; a blank card cannot be reissued if lost.3
The current visitor product is TOURIST PASMO: no deposit, valid 28 days from purchase, with added value never refunded (as of 2026-09).314 It sells only at Haneda Airport (Keikyu Terminal 1 and 2 machines, Terminal 3 information center and machines) and Narita Airport (Keisei information centers at Terminals 1 and 2), priced 1,000 to 10,000 yen depending on the sales point with Narita fixed at 2,000 yen (as of 2026-09).14 PASMO announced the card for international visitors on April 17, 2026 (as of 2026-04).3
ICOCA (JR West)
ICOCA is issued by JR West for Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji) with wider San'yo, Hokuriku, and Shikoku coverage, and it rides and pays nationwide in participating areas.134 A standard card costs 2,000 yen (1,500 yen of usable value plus a 500-yen deposit), cannot be bought with a credit card, and is returned to a JR West ticket office (as of 2026-09).1513
Kansai-airport arrivals can also buy a foreign-visitor original-design ICOCA at the airport station ticket office: one per person, 2,000 yen including the deposit, on presentation of a non-Japanese passport with Temporary Visitor status (as of 2026-09).13 Standard ICOCA otherwise stays valid 10 years from last use with a 220-yen refund handling fee, though those two line items rest on a secondary guide rather than a JR West English page (as of 2026-02).16 ICOCA also works on iPhone through Apple Pay.13
How Visitors Get a Card Now
Physical-card sales are currently unrestricted after the March 1, 2025 resumption, so visitors choose between plastic, phone, and tourist-specific products on convenience rather than scarcity (as of 2025-02; confirm current figures with JR East).8 The decision below follows your phone and your landing airport.
An iPhone route needs an Apple Account with two-factor authentication plus an eligible payment card in Wallet; the gate tap then works without opening an app.12 Apple lists Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, and TOICA as addable cards, so there is no need to default to Suica for compatibility reasons.12
Physical cards at stations and airports
Welcome Suica has sold since March 27, 2025 at JR East Travel Service Centers (both Narita stations, Haneda Terminal 3, Tokyo, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Yokohama, Sendai), Welcome Suica vending machines (both Narita stations, Haneda Terminal 3), Japan Rail Cafe Tokyo, and Takanawa Gateway, one per person in principle (as of 2026-09).10 Standard Suica comes from JR East machines, offices, and Travel Service Centers; ICOCA from JR West machines and offices including Kansai Airport; TOURIST PASMO from the Haneda and Narita points above.101514
Every Welcome Suica comes with a paper reference slip showing validity, balance, and pass details; carry it and show it to staff on request, with reprints available at machines.10 Child Welcome Suica cards need the child's ID at purchase and stay valid until March 31 after the child's 12th birthday.10
Mobile wallet cards on compatible phones
An iPhone 8 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 3 or later, running the latest supported OS can add Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, or TOICA directly in Apple Wallet (as of 2026-03).12 Japan-bought iPhone 7 models are a narrow older exception for Suica only.12
Most Android phones bought outside Japan cannot run mobile IC cards because they lack Osaifu-Keitai (FeliCa) hardware and certification; ordinary NFC contactless ability does not prove compatibility (as of 2026-07).17 JR East has announced support for selected overseas-sold Samsung Galaxy phones in the first half of 2027, but models and regions are unannounced, so treat it as a roadmap rather than a present-day option (as of 2026-07).17
Visitor-specific tourist cards
Physical Welcome Suica needs no deposit, comes pre-banded at 1,000 through 10,000 yen, lasts 28 days from the purchase date (dead on day 29), and never refunds leftover balance for any reason (as of 2026-09).10 Lost cards are not reissued, though a genuinely malfunctioning card has a balance-recovery procedure through JR East offices.10
Welcome Suica Mobile is JR East's iOS app for overseas visitors (Apple Pay devices, age 13 and up): issue and top up in the app, keep the card 180 days from issue, and accept that leftover value expires with no refund (as of 2026-03).11 The app also handles Green Car upgrades and Shinkansen and limited-express seat bookings, and some countries' laws block download or top-up until after arrival in Japan (as of 2026-03).11
TOURIST PASMO mirrors the no-deposit, no-refund shape with 28-day validity, a carried reference paper, and a child version expiring March 31 of the year the child turns 12 (as of 2026-09).314
Topping Up and Managing Your Balance
Cash remains the universal charging method for plastic: ticket machines, fare-adjustment machines, station counters, convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, and NewDays, Seven Bank ATMs, and driver-assisted bus top-ups in 1,000-yen bills.510914 Only mobile and Wallet routes charge cash-free, through Apple Pay or an eligible Wallet payment card subject to the issuer's approval.1112
| Card | Deposit | Validity | Refund | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Suica | 500 yen | 10 years of non-use | Balance plus deposit minus 220 yen fee | 2026-09 | 5 |
| Standard ICOCA | 500 yen | 10 years from last use | Balance plus deposit minus 220 yen fee | 2026-02 | 16 |
| Welcome Suica (physical) | None | 28 days from purchase | No refund | 2026-09 | 10 |
| Welcome Suica Mobile (iOS) | None | 180 days from issue | No refund | 2026-03 | 11 |
| TOURIST PASMO | None | 28 days from purchase | No refund | 2026-09 | 14 |
Figures in this table reflect each issuing operator's current terms (as of 2026-09).51014 TOURIST PASMO caps top-ups at 20,000 yen at machines and shops and 10,001 yen on buses (as of 2026-09).14
Where and how to top up
At a machine, insert the card, choose the charge option, pick an amount, and feed in yen bills or coins; in a store, tell the cashier the amount and tap when prompted.9 TOURIST PASMO follows the same pattern with its lower bus ceiling noted above (as of 2026-09).14
Deposits, refunds, and expiry
Standard cards tie up a refundable 500-yen deposit and reward keeping the card for repeat trips; tourist cards skip the deposit but forfeit leftovers (as of 2026-09).51014 Refunds must go back to the issuing operator, so a Suica cannot be refunded at a JR West counter nor an ICOCA at a JR East one.515
Expiry windows decide the strategy: standard cards last years while tourist cards last days or months, so long-stay visitors who can buy standard cards keep more flexibility (as of 2026-09).51114
Good to know
One card is enough for most trips
Buying a second card mid-trip is usually wasted effort because any one interoperable card rides the same participating networks.34 A Suica from Tokyo works in Osaka and an ICOCA from Kansai works in Tokyo, so keep the first card for the whole journey.4
The exception is routing, not branding. Continuous cross-area rides and Shinkansen legs still need separate tickets regardless of which card you hold.54
Tourist-card balances can expire with no refund
Welcome Suica, Welcome Suica Mobile, and TOURIST PASMO all forfeit remaining value at expiry with no refund path.101114 This is a cost trap only if you overcharge early and forget the deadline.
Charge conservatively in the final days and spend the remainder at convenience stores, station shops, or vending machines before it lapses.9 Standard cards avoid the problem entirely for travelers eligible to buy them.5
Most foreign Android phones cannot run mobile IC cards
Ordinary NFC does not make an overseas Android compatible, since mobile IC cards need Osaifu-Keitai hardware and certification found on Japan-market devices (as of 2026-07).17 Installing a Japanese app does not add the missing capability.17
Plan on a physical card if your Android was sold outside Japan and lists no Osaifu-Keitai support.17 iPhone users face no equivalent barrier from iPhone 8 onward.12
Keep cash for top-ups even after going cashless
Physical-card charging at machines is cash-only, so a fully cash-free arrival still stalls at the first ticket machine without yen.510 Carry bills on landing day even if every other payment runs on card or phone.15
Mobile top-ups through Apple Pay or an eligible Wallet card are the only cash-free charging routes, and issuer declines still happen.1112 A second payment method plus some yen covers both failure modes.
See also
- Using an IC Card for Transit: Tapping In, Tapping Out, and Fare Mechanics
- Is Japan Still a Cash-Only Country?
- Mobile and Contactless Payment Options for Visitors
- ATMs That Accept Foreign Cards in Japan
- Japan Trip Checklist: What to Sort Out Before You Fly