How to get an IC card in Tokyo.

8 comments

1. go to your iphone settings and create one

2. Do you have to commute to work? You can still get one with a commuter pass.

3. You can try to get a TOICA (interopable with passmo and suica but from JR Central) at shinagawa, Tokyo or shin-yokohama station: https://toica.jr-central.co.jp/counter/index.html

   Alternatively, you can buy a suica off of Mercari at a relatively large (but still quite cheap) markup. I think it’s like, ¥1000 or something.

   Also you could see if your phone is compatible with mobile suica. If you have a newer iphone probably yes, otherwise probably no.

4. If you regularly commute to work (or school), you are currently still able able to buy a commuter pass (which is just a personalized pasmo, with the purchased route and validity in it). The breakeven varies between 17 to 20 days (or so) of two way travel on the purchased route.

   One possible loophole to obtain a new card, might be to buy a new commuter pass, then just refund the commuter pass only, and switch the card to a personalized pasmo.

   I am to understand if you do it within the first 7 days of validity, they will deduct the cost of [ (a return trip) x days + 220 yen ]; you can’t refund a commuter pass past the first 8 days, except for unused months if you purchased a 3 or 6 month commuter pass.

   It should also be possible to purchase a commuter pass that starts it’s validity at a later date (up to 14 days away I believe?), and if you refund that before the validity, you should be out 220yen.

   I’m not sure if this “method” is now disallowed, as it’s quite clear this is an attempt to workaround the pass shortages at this time.

5. >After 4 years and came back

   Do you have your old pass? Those are good for like 10-12 years since last tap or something.

6. I heard this too.

   https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html

   Lack of IC chips. So I guess it’s just temporary. Japan is going big on chip plants around Kyuushuu so I’m sure we will get domestic IC chips soon enough.

7. You can get one at Haneda Terminal 3, and other airports.

8. I ran into this problem today. What I wound up doing was buying a 24hr Tokyo metro ticket loaded onto a new anonymous Pasmo. Only some metro stations have ticket machines that will do this for you, and even then not every ticket machine in the station will – I got lucky with one of the machines at Azabu-juban near the Namboku line (the one all the way on the right when facing the ticket machines). The “new Pasmo” I got issued with the day pass seems to act completely like a regular Pasmo card, even with the “10 year validity” language in Japanese printed on the back like a normal Pasmo.

   Theoretically you can refund the day pass during its validity for a 220 yen fee if you haven’t yet used it, making the total Pasmo cost 720 yen (500 deposit + 220 refund fee). At least this is less than what people are selling anonymous cards for on Amazon/Mercato. Personally I’m keeping the day pass since it makes sense for my situation.

   Good luck from a fellow Android user!