## tl;dr You’ll have better luck saying “Visa Touch” instead of “Apple Pay” if you’re trying to pay with Apple/Google Pay using a non-Japanese card.
Quick PSA because I’ve seen people have troubles with this in recent threads, and I’ve mentioned this in multiple threads but it’s easier just to have a post I can link to.
## What’s the Problem?
Contactless payments in Japan use FeliCa NFC as their base technology (all transit IC cards, Japan-issued credit cards). Contactless payments used by the rest of the world use contactless EMV.
“Apple Pay” in Japan technically supports FeliCa-based AND EMV-based payments, _but_ depending on the store, payment terminal, etc., “Apple Pay” may only support Japan-only payment methods, so if you ask for “Apple Pay,” in many cases the terminal will reject your non-Japanese card from your Apple/Google Pay.
## Ask for “Visa Touch”
[“Visa Touch” (_Visa de tacchi_, _Visa でタッチ_)](https://www.visa.co.jp/pay-with-visa/featured-technologies/contactless.html) is a contactless payment method in Japan.
The short story here is Visa built their own contactless payment system and it supports contactless EMV payments – so you can use contactless Amex/Mastercard/Visa/Apple Pay/Google Pay if the payment terminal supports this payment method.
Mastercard and others have their own versions (like [Mastercard Contactless](https://www.mastercard.co.jp/ja-jp/personal/features-benefits/contactless.html)) but “Visa Touch” or “Touch” were the most understood terms when I was there.
## Does this Work Everywhere?
Not as widespread as just normal cards or other Japan-specific contactless methods, but not as rare as you’d think.
Contactless EMV is less common because it requires newer payment terminals, but chains and a fair number of major stores do support it, especially if you’re in a major city.
I’ve used it at Loft, some clothing stores, multiple restaurants in Tokyo/Osaka, Matsumoto Kiyoshi, and the four major convenience stores (7-Eleven, Ministop, Lawson, Family Mart) support it.
Visa additionally lists many more places like McDonald’s, Doutor, Welcia (a drug store), and HUB (the bar), as places that support this contactless payment.
## See More:
* Good info here: https://atadistance.net/apple-pay-japan-credit-cards/
* When in doubt, look for [these contactless logos](https://i0.wp.com/atadistance.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Apple-Pay-in-Japan-Checkout-10-2021.png?resize=994%2C1024&ssl=1) because most stores in Japan have a card at checkout that displays all their supported methods.