Due to continuing global shortage, personalized Suica and Pasmo cards will stop being issued from 2 August 2023.
Passes with commuter cards, children’s discount fares cards and cards for people with disabilities will still be issued. Registered passes that were reported lost or damaged will also be re-issued.
Source: https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2023/20230731_ho02.pdf
Word of advice from moderating team, if you are planning trip to Japan longer than 28 days, think about starting the trip in other region, as ICOCA (Kansai), Kitaca (Sapporo), SUGOCA (Kyushu), nimoca, Hayakaken (Fukuoka), toica, manaca (central Japan) are still being normally issued.
12 comments
Does this also involve the Welcome Suica card for tourists? The pdf is japanese only sadly.
If you have an iphone, can you still download and use SUICA/PASMO on your wallet app?
So only Tokyo region uses Suica / Pasmo cards, and will be the only region affected?
I am planning a 42 day trip in Japan during Jan/Feb 2024, starting in Tokyo.
What would be an alternative to the Suica / Pasmo cards, after 02 August 2023?
I travelled to Japan sometime in 2019. How to check if my icoca/suica card that I got then is still valid? Or it is still valid/no expiry date?
From the same PDF:
Sale of welcome Suica continues but is only available at Narita and Haneda airport and the limit is one per person.
Sales of PASMO passport (basically same thing as welcome Suica) is unaffected. You can get it at Narita and Haneda and major stations around Tokyo. https://www.pasmo.co.jp/visitors/en/buy/
Can just buy your Suica online ahead of time.
Comes pre-loaded with some money so it isn’t much more after shipping. Walk off of the plane without worrying.
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/transportation/prepaid-cards/suica?market=US&gclid=CjwKCAjwt52mBhB5EiwA05YKo_kah2J_hAWVf4PkklgaDFt8HafWou6Ubxo965LkLdyzrDlmP71weRoCa5IQAvD_BwE
Dumb question:I starting from Osaka. So the ICOCA can be used in Tokyo when we get there?
If we hang on to it, and come back to Japan in a few years time, will the ICOCA card be usable still?
Thank u
Dang, I’m gonna be in Tokyo at the end of the year and only have an Android phone. Any replacements suggestions?
RIP. So glad I managed to get a Pasmo with my name on it.
Just to understand better, this is only for ‘personalized’ IC cards with your name on it. But will there still be regular non-personalized cards that you can get at the stations through the machines? (not the welcome ones) Only asking cause I wanted to get the other cards just to collect heh. Still have my Pasmo from my first trip in 2018 and used it 2019 and 2022 as well.
Can you still buy the nicer ones that you could get refunds on? I guess its made from a better material
I was in Tokyo on the 7/15 to 7/19 and this was an unwelcome surprise. We planned on getting our cards at a train station but they had signs up at the pay stations saying no new cards. We had iPhones, but for some reason we couldn’t link our credit cards to the SUICA wallet app.