Welcome Suica | JR-EAST (2024)

FAQs

Which is better Pasmo or Suica? ›

Which card should I buy? Essentially, Pasmo and Suica cards are identical. The only real consideration is if you need a commuter pass, as daily work journeys on a JR line require a Suica and vice versa.

You can purchase the Welcome Suica card at JR East Travel Service Centers at Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station, Narita Airport Terminal 2/3 Station, Haneda Airport International Terminal Station, Tokyo Station, Hamamatsuchō Station, Shinagawa Station, Shibuya Station, Shinjuku Station, Ikebukuro Station, and Ueno ...

Fortunately, both Apple and Android make it easy to create a mobile Suica or PASMO card through their phone wallet apps.

The Suica card is ready to use and already credited with 2000 yen (including a 500 yen deposit). To recover the deposit, you will have to return your card in Tokyo only, at JR East stations. You can keep your Suica card for your next trip. It will remain valid for 10 years.

No visitor to Tokyo should be without a Suica card and no visitor to Japan should be without a JR Pass. The Suica card is convenient for intercity trains and buses while the JR Pass saves you time and money when traveling through the country.

The Welcome Suica can be used not only for JR East trains, but subways and buses as well. See the Welcome Suica Map for transportation systems ​ ​ you can use with the Welcome Suica. ​The Welcome Suica can also be used to pay for things with e-money.

SUICA (offered by JR East) allows you to access trains, subways, monorails, and buses in the Kanto region such as Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, etc., Sendai, Niigata, and Okinawa. You can also use it in restaurants, taxis, vending machines, and food stores as long as they have the SUICA logo.

Use Apple Pay at stores in Japan.

You must have a model that supports Apple Pay in Japan (iPhone 8 • Apple Watch Series 3 and later) and either Suica or PASMO card, (also nanaco or WAON) or credit/debit card issued by a bank in Japan. Let the cashier know if you're paying with Suica, PASMO, iD, QUICPay, WAON or nanaco.

Is Suica same as PASMO? ›

For most purposes, Pasma and Suica are interchangeable. Buy either! You can use Pasmo/Suica for all trains, subways and buses in Tokyo. You can also use Pasmo/Suica at many shops, especially convenience stores.

Tokyo Monorail can be taken with a Monorail SUICA card (or PASMO purchased from the Keikyu Railway vending machine) at Haneda Airport. There's only base fare for Tokyo Monorail.

You can utilize IC cards (PiTaPa, ICOCA, Suica, etc.) on the city bus and the subway.

For Android

The easiest way to charge your Mobile Suica is through Google Pay. Once Mobile Suica is installed on your phone, go to your Google Pay app and follow these steps. Once you have this set up, charging your Suica is as simple as tapping add money on Google Pay and using your existing cards.

Tap to pay setup.

To make a tap-to-pay transaction with a card in your Google Wallet, Google Pay should be set as your default payment app. Add a contactless payment method. Set up a screen lock. Your phone must meet the security requirements.

Go to the office

Suica cards are not refundable at Haneda Airport (as it's not on a JR line) but can be refunded at the ticket office or using the refund machines at Narita Airport. You should also be aware that JR Monorail Suica and Rinkai Suica are not refundable on JR lines.

Suica is valid in Hiroshima and Osaka on buses, subway, trains, street cars, ferries. If you want to top up Suica (JR East) in Hiroshima (JR West), just use the ICOCA refill machine at a JR station.

Smart cards like Icoca, Suica and Pasmo are generally valid across Japan, so don't worry about which one you buy. You can use Icoca/Pasmo/Suica for all trains, subways and buses in Osaka.

Suica is short for Super Urban Intelligent Card. It also stands for "Suisui ikeru IC card," which is Japanese for "IC card that lets you go swiftly." First issued by the East Japan Railway Company in November 2001, Suica cards can currently be used in Tokyo and surrounding areas, as well as in the Sendai area.

How much is JR Pass for 14 days? ›

The JR Pass is valid on all Shinkansen services in all the Shinkansen lines, except for the Nozomi and Mizuho services on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. You will not have access to the trains with the fewest stops on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines.

Although the Tokyo Monorail is a private railway, it has been integrated for use of the Japan Rail Pass. To board, simply show your activated JR Pass at the gates. Remember that you can activate your pass at the airport (Haneda JR East Travel Center), near the Tokyo Monorail gate.

They can be recharged with your credit card (on Wallet, Apple Pay) and also be recharged with cash at ICC charge machines (the entrance of the cafeteria building), convenience stores and Station Smart-Charges.

You could also use a regular taxi, but if you're not confident with your Japanese, ordering an Uber ride could be an alternative. Taxi usually offers better prices than Uber, but during late nights when taxi rides have an extra fee, that is when Uber becomes a good alternative.

There are many shops that accept Suica and Pasmo card payments. Look for the “Suica” mark on vending machines, at convenience stores or in restaurants where you can use your Suica to pay. You may also be able to use them at Yoshinoyas and Starbucks, although these may be limited to those in JR train stations.

The iPhone Suica app lets you purchase Shinkansen express tickets and reserve seats.

Cash is still a favored method, although the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the use of digital and contactless payments. Most major credit cards are accepted for purchases in larger stores and restaurants. However, be aware that shrines and other locations in rural areas might only take cash.

Is Suica app available in English? ›

You can just download the English app (known as “SuicaEng”). There is no need to download the Suica (Japanese app). There is also no need to change your language in your phone to Japanese. It is an application designed to use for non Japanese.

British English: Switzerland /ˈswɪtsələnd/ NOUN.

Smart cards like Icoca, Suica and Pasmo are valid across Japan, so don't worry about which one you buy. You can use Icoca/Pasmo/Suica for all trains, subways and buses in Kyoto. You can also use Icoca/Pasmo/Suica at many shops, especially convenience stores.

Otherwise, you can pay per journey. This is best done with a prepaid IC card such as Suica, Pasmo, or Icoca, which can be used on almost all trains, subways, and buses in Kobe.

Thus at ground level and in subways, monorails are more expensive than normal trains. And since ground level is always cheaper to build than elevated regardless of mode, every new transit line uses ground level as much as possible.

The monorail is all free seating.

Metro rail is much faster than the monorail. Metro rail uses two rails to run. Monorail only uses one.

The Narita Express (N'EX)

The price of this ticket is 4,000 yen, or about $36.00 U.S., for adults, and 2,000 yen, or about $18.00 U.S., for children. The price is fully covered by the JR Pass. These trains depart every 25 to 40 minutes from Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station.

At present, smart cards that can be used in Sapporo are SAPICA (Sapporo Municipal Transportation), Kitaca (JR Hokkaido), Suica (JR East), PASMO, manaca, TOICA, PiTaPa, ICOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca, and SUGOCA.

How much is train from Narita to Shinjuku? ›

The another option to Shinjuku is via Narita Express. This is a direct train between Narita Airport and Shinjuku Station. The ride will take around 1 hour and 30 minutes, with one-way fare amounting to 3,250 yen.

©️ Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. You can move around Tokyo by Tokyo Metro lines as you want with the unlimited Tokyo Subway Pass for only 800 yen!! Tokyo Subway Ticket is a must-buy subway pass if you come to Japan to mainly travel Tokyo.

Shinkansen or bullet train

It takes only 14 minutes to run between Kyoto Station and Shin-Osaka Station. If you want to use this option to get from Kyoto to Osaka, you need to buy a one-way ticket that costs 1,420 yen (unreserved seat) or 3,220 yen (reserved seat).

Kyoto Metro system

Both lines are available from Karasuma Oike Station. The best use of the subway system is to reach attractions in the city center. The metro ticket prices range from ¥210 to ¥350 for adults and ¥110 to ¥180 for children. The trains of the Kyoto metro system are not covered under your Japan Rail Pass.

No visitor to Tokyo should be without a Suica card and no visitor to Japan should be without a JR Pass. The Suica card is convenient for intercity trains and buses while the JR Pass saves you time and money when traveling through the country.

Yes, there is no limit on the number of JR Passes you can buy. It's worth bearing in mind the per day costs of the JR Pass reduce as you purchase larger passes.

The Japan Rail Pass and JR Tokyo Wide Pass are valid only on JR trains and the Tokyo Monorail. They cannot be used on subways or any other non-JR train.

Yes! Just the round trip between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto is worth the 7 Day Whole Japan JR Pass. But on top of the two rides, you'll be able to use the pass on local JR trains or buses in each city.

If you chose to purchase tickets at the vending machine with one Suica card, it's possible to get by with one card. But that defeats the purpose of having a Suica card! (And it's more expensive to purchase tickets on the vending machine.) One per person.

How much money do you need per day in Japan? ›

According to some, a low daily budget for Japanese travel is about $26.00 to $69.00 USD, a mid-range daily budget is about $69.00 to $140.00 USD, and a high daily budget is anything above this.

Depending on the grade of Kobe beef you choose, a single steak can cost upwards of $400 in the US or $200 in Japan. However, you can also get a high grade Kobe beef in Kobe at lunchtime for under $50 per person, so the Kobe beef price in Japan is usually less than half what it is abroad.