Got a question about JR Passes or IC cards (Suica/Pasmo/ICOCA/etc)? Read through the information below and feel free to ask additional questions in this thread! Please see here%20question%3F%22&restrict_sr=1&sort=new) for old versions of this megathread.
JR Pass Info
The nationwide JR Pass is a travel pass that allows train and bus travel for a fixed cost over a certain period of days on Japan Railways (JR) services. For a comprehensive source of information on the pass, check out our wiki page or Japan Guide’s JR Pass page.
The JR Pass can be purchased in one of two ways:
* Online at the official site
* Online from an authorized retailer (also often called a "third-party seller")
There is no way to be certain if a JR Pass will be valuable for you without knowing your exact itinerary and doing the math out. If you are trying to work out whether a JR Pass is the right choice for you, here are some calculators:
* JRPass.com’s calculator
* Japan Guide’s calculator
* Daisuki calculator
As of October 1, 2023, the nationwide JR Pass and regional JR Passes have increased in price significantly. The price increase makes it so that there are very few itineraries that the nationwide JR Pass will be worth it for. For more information and discussion on the price increase, see this search result of prior discussion threads.
IC Card Info (Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA, etc.)
General Information
An IC card is a stored-value card used to pay for transportation in Japan. That means you can load the card with money and use the card to pay for trains, buses, etc by tapping the card at train station gates or fare readers. Even if you have a JR Pass or other travel pass, an IC card is recommended because it can be used across transportation systems operated by many different transit companies, as well as for payment at convenience stores, restaurants, shops, vending machines, and other locations.
For tourism purposes, there are nine major IC cards and all of them are completely interchangeable and usable in each other's regions, so it doesn’t really matter which one you get. Where you start your travels in Japan often dictates what IC card you get, since different IC cards originate in different regions, but then you'll be able to use it during most of your traveling, even if you move to a different region. For general information on IC cards, see our wiki or Japan Guide’s IC card page.
Physical IC Cards
Currently, sales of regular Suica, named Suica, regular Pasmo, and named Pasmo cards are technically suspended due to a semiconductor shortage (except children's versions and commuter versions). That said, there have been recent reports in early 2024 of people getting regular Suica cards at some stations in Tokyo.
If you are landing in/starting your trip in Tokyo, tourists can still get:
- A Welcome Suica at Haneda Airport (HND) or Narita Airport (NRT)
- Possibly a regular Suica at some major JR East stations in Tokyo, as well as at Haneda Airport and Narita Airport (subject to limited and inconsistent availability)
- Possibly a Toica IC card at the JR Central portions of Tokyo Station (Yaesu North Exit) and Shinagawa Station (Shinkansen North Exit) (subject to limited availability)
- A digital IC card (see next section for more information)
A Welcome Suica acts exactly like a regular IC card, with two exceptions: it is only valid for 28 days, and it cannot be refunded. Please see this thread and its top comment for information.
If you are starting your trip in another region (e.g., Kansai, Kyushu, etc.), sales of their regional IC cards are unaffected by Suica and Pasmo shortages. Please see this page to identify which card you'll get, and it should be available at airports and train stations in those regions.
June 2024 Update: Pasmo Passport is listed as no longer available on its website.
Digital IC Cards
If you are looking to get a digital IC card, please note that digital Suica, Pasmo, and ICOCA cards can only be used on iPhones, Apple Watches, or Japanese Android phones (this means the phone was purchased in Japan). For instructions on how to get a digital IC card in Apple Wallet, see here. You do not need the Suica or Pasmo apps (which are all in Japanese) in order to get a digital IC card. It can be loaded and used entirely through Apple Wallet.
Please note that not all credit cards work to load a digital IC card. Amex cards seem to have the highest success rate, but Mastercards and Visas can be flaky. Although Visa previously didn't work at all, as of December 2023, loading a digital Suica with some Visa credits cards seems to work, although not all of them. See this At A Distance blog post for more info and updates. It is not uncommon to not have any of your cards work to load a digital IC card, and if that happens, you might need to stick with a physical IC card.
Keep in mind that digital IC cards cannot be refunded (that requires a Japanese bank account), so you will need to burn down whatever value you’ve loaded onto them before the end of your trip.
IC Card FAQ
I have an old IC card from a previous trip. Can I use it on my upcoming trip?
IC cards are valid for ten years after their last date of use, so if you received the card and/or used the card in/after 2014, it’ll work.
Can more than one person use the same IC card for travel?
No. All travelers who want to use IC cards on transit need to have their own card. Most transit in Japan is distance-based, and the card is “keeping track” of your journey, and it can only keep track of one at a time.
Are there children’s IC cards? How do I get one for my child?
Children under six years old can ride transit for free. If your child is between the ages of six and eleven, you can get a children’s IC card from JR offices by presenting the child’s passport for proof of age. There is also a Welcome Suica version for children. If you are getting IC cards at the airport, they are able to provide children’s cards.
Can I load money onto a physical IC card with a credit card?
No. Physical IC cards can only be loaded with cash, which can be done at ticket machines in train stations, convenience stores, and 7-Eleven ATMs.
I have a physical IC card and I want to transfer it to my phone. If I do that, can I still use the physical card?
No. Once you “move” the physical card to your phone and turn it into a digital card, the physical card becomes invalid. It cannot be used or reactivated.
I’m landing in Tokyo, but then I’m going to Osaka and Kyoto. Do I need a suica in Tokyo and then an ICOCA in Osaka/Kyoto?
No. Once you have one of the major IC cards, it can be used pretty much anywhere. There are some exceptions to this, but they are mostly on individual lines or in specific rural regions. If you are traveling to major tourism cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, etc., you are likely fine with whatever IC card you originally received upon arrival.
Should I buy an IC card online before arriving in Japan?
If you want to get an IC card online from a reputable vendor, there’s nothing wrong with that. Some of the authorized JR Pass website (as well as other websites targeted at tourists) will sell them bundled with other purchases. That said, there isn’t really any reason to get your card ahead of time. If you’re landing in Tokyo, the 28-day Welcome Suica is good enough for most tourists. And if you do end up in the country for longer than 28 days, you can simply get an IC card from another region once you’re in one (such as the ICOCA from Kansai).
Help! I tried to load my digital IC card through Apple Wallet and the transaction didn't go through! What do I do?
To start, did you attempt to create it/load it overnight in Japan? The digital system goes down for maintenance from about 1am to 5am JST, so try again during Japan's daytime hours. Beyond that, Visa cards often cannot be used to load digital IC cards. Mastercards sometimes have issues too, depending on the issuing bank. Unfortunately, if you can't find a digital card + credit card combo that works for you, you may not be able to use digital IC cards.
Recent IC Card Threads
To see some recent discussion on IC cards, check out the following threads from our search results here.
by Himekat
14 comments
We are going to be in Japan for two weeks in October. There is an event in Kyushu that will take up part of that time, but we are taking extra time to see other things. We have scheduled 4 nights in the Kyoto/Osaka area before our event, and then 3 nights in Tokyo after. I have a couple of questions.
I don’t think the nationwide JR pass will be cost effective for us, but I’m thinking the Kansai/Hiroshima 5 day pass would definitely save us some money, but I have a question. I’m assuming the pass doesn’t cover the use of the green cars, but if we decided we wanted to go green for specific trips, would we just pay the difference between a regular trip and the green car trip, or do we have to pay the whole fare?
Secondly, our iPhones show ICOCA, PASMO, and Suica as options for digital IC cards. I know they are mostly interchangeable, but given that we will be in Tokyo for 3 days, if we got PASMO, would we be able to put our 72 hour metro pass on the phone too, or would we have to get a physical card?
Are prices used in the [JRPass.com’s calculator](https://www.jrpass.com/farecalculator) the actual one?
Do fares change over time like flight fares?
I’m trying to figure out if I need to book trains in advance for my incoming trip 🙂 Many thanks in advance!
Hi! as far as I understand, if you land in Tokyo you’ll need to purchase a SUICA, as the first use to activate it should be in that area. Do I need to do that with the digital SUICA as well? I’m gonna try with the digital. Thanks!
Can I visit Tokyo station to buy Shinkansen tickets using my digital Suica? We have $900 worth of Shinkansen to catch across 14 days according to the calculator.
Since the exchange rate from AUD-YEN is dropping I want to fill up my digital suica now, guessing that the rate now will be better than when I visit and try to pay by regular credit card.
We plan to land in Tokyo, and get a child Suica or Pasmo (from JR or Kensei office). On getting this physical IC card, can we load it into an iPhone or apple watch for our son to use? (using the Transfer Existing Card option)
Primary motivation is that it is easy to (re)load a Suica that is in the iPhone
Hello,
I was wondering if child IC cards are still usable if the owner is 12+. The card has not expired yet, but I’m considering the need of a new IC card.
Is it possible to buy toho cinema ticket on convenient store without a Japanese sim?
I’m having trouble adding my physical Suica card from my last trip to my Apple Wallet. I keep getting an error saying “Card Cannot be Added While in Progress” Any way to fix this since I am in fact not currently in Japan and have not been in over a year?
I have a Pasmo Passport card from February. Is that expired? Or does that fall under the “IC cards are valid for ten years after their last date of use, so if you received the card and/or used the card in/after 2014, it’ll work.” rule. I think I read somewhere else that they expire after a month or so.
Hi I’m just wondering if you can use two several JR regional passes at the same time. I will be buying the [Sanyo Sanin Northern Kyushu Pass](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_sanyo_sanin_kyushu.html) and [Southern Kyushu Rail Pass](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_05.html) as I will be doing a trip from Fukuoka to Kagoshima and the All Kyushu rail pass is expensive and doesn’t cover Fukuoka to Hiroshima. Sanyo Sanin northern pass only covers to Kumamoto and I was wondering if I can buy the Southern Kyushu rail pass in order to get to Kagoshima.
I used the calculator and doing this will save me $$ just wondering if its possible to use them at the same time.
Asked last month, but got conflicting responses.
I went to Japan in May of 2014 and used a physical Suica pass at that time. Am going back next year and was wondering how or if I could reactivate it? Since the cards are hard to come by these days, I’d like to just be able to use it since I still have the pass.
(In fact, I’ve used it as my Konami eAmusement card at Round1 locations in the US.)
Which digital IC card (via apple wallet only), if any, gives you the number of the card so you can link your shinkansen train tickets on it?
I’m having trouble figuring out if the JR pass is worth it or not. I will visit smaller places to see family friends/relatives. My plan is
Fukuyama -> Fukuoka -> Osaka -> Nara -> Osaka -> Nagoya -> Koshu, Yamanashi (Enzan station) -> Tokyo.
I’m having trouble with the sites given trying to make the math work. Does anyone have recommendations on what websites or applications to use? For example I couldn’t find Koshu on two of the 3 sites. It is also worth noting this will be between the mornings of 8/23 to 8/26, flight early morning in Tokyo. I would be buying the 7 day pass costing 50000 yen. The JRPass site shows that I am saving 3000 yen but doesn’t show the specifics. The other two sites say that I am 1000-4000 yen short with a bit more explanation. I also plan to use public transit in the cities although I am in each city for about a single day. From what I’ve read online I can’t use the JR Rail pass for that travel. Not necessarily looking for someone to do the math for me, but if there are clearer places for me to look it would be greatly appreciated due to the smaller places I am visiting. I’m not sure if the pricing on google maps is accurate.
Is Ginza like a place you can spend all-day at or is more of like a few hours kind of place? Traveling to Tokyo for the first time and planning my trip, 13 days.