Suica (スイカ, suika) is JR East's prepaid transit card. You tap it on the ticket gate instead of buying a ticket, and the fare comes off the balance. It also pays at konbini, vending machines, coin lockers and many restaurants.
Visitors now have four ways to carry one. This guide compares them, using JR East's and Apple's own pages. We checked every price and rule on October 22, 2026.
The short answer
- You have an iPhone: get Welcome Suica Mobile or add a Suica to Apple Wallet. You can set either up before you fly and top up from your phone.
- You have an Android phone, or want a card: buy a plastic Welcome Suica at Narita or Haneda when you land.
- You visit Japan often: a regular Suica card or Suica in Apple Wallet keeps working between trips, and the card refunds its deposit when you are done.
| Option | Lasts | Money left at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome Suica card | 28 days | Lost, no refund |
| Welcome Suica Mobile | 180 days | Lost, no refund |
| Suica in Apple Wallet | Like a regular Suica | Refund to a bank account, minus a fee |
| Regular Suica card | 10 years after last use | Refund plus 500 yen deposit, minus 220 yen |
Option 1: Welcome Suica (plastic card for visitors)
The Welcome Suica is a version of the card made for short trips. You pay only for the balance, with no deposit.
Price: 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 or 10,000 yen, all of it spendable.
Where to buy: Welcome Suica vending machines at Narita Airport Terminal 1, Narita Airport Terminal 2·3 and Haneda Airport Terminal 3 (Tokyo Monorail) stations, and JR EAST Travel Service Centers at those stations plus Tokyo, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Yokohama and Sendai. JR East sells one card per person.
Valid for: 28 days, counting the day you buy it. The "GOOD THRU" date printed on the back is not the expiry date. Keep the reference paper you get at purchase: it shows the real end date.
Top up: with cash only, at ticket machines and fare adjustment machines with the Welcome Suica mark, or at Seven Bank ATMs in 7-Eleven stores. A credit card cannot be used. The balance can go up to 20,000 yen.
Refund: none. Whatever is left when the 28 days end is gone, so top up in small amounts near the end of your trip. JR East suggests keeping the card as a souvenir.
There is a child version for children up to the March 31 after their 12th birthday. You need the child's passport to buy it.
Option 2: Welcome Suica Mobile (iPhone app)
Welcome Suica Mobile is JR East's iPhone app for visitors. It issues a Suica on your iPhone that lasts 180 days.
How to set it up:
- Download Welcome Suica Mobile from the App Store before your trip.
- Agree to the terms.
- Set a secret keyword. JR East uses it if you ever contact them.
- Turn on location. The app uses it to check whether it may add money.
- Issue your Suica and add money in the app.
Good to know:
- You must be 13 or older, and the iPhone must support Apple Pay.
- In some countries the law does not allow you to set it up or add money until you are in Japan. Then do it on arrival.
- The leftover balance is not refunded and expires after 180 days.
- The app also books Shinkansen and limited express seats through JR-EAST Train Reservation. You pay by credit card and then simply tap your phone at the gate. Our Ekinetto guide explains that booking site.
- It sells Green Car tickets for local JR trains, such as the Tokaido, Yokosuka and Chuo (Rapid) lines.
Option 3: Suica in Apple Wallet
Any iPhone 7 or later with current iOS can hold a regular Suica in Apple Wallet. Apple's steps:
- Open Wallet and tap the + button.
- Tap Transit Card, then Suica.
- Tap Add New Card, choose an amount and tap Add.
- Confirm the payment.
You need an Apple Account with two-factor authentication and a payment card in Wallet. To top up later, tap the Suica in Wallet, then Add Money. If your card is declined, add money with cash instead: Suica can be topped up at station ticket machines with the Suica mark and at most konbini.
This is a regular Suica rather than a visitor version, so it has no deposit and no 28 or 180-day limit. It suits people who come back to Japan. To cash out, JR East pays the leftover balance, minus a fee, into a bank account you name when you close the Suica. Apple Wallet Suica also works on Apple Watch.
Option 4: The regular Suica card
The standard plastic Suica costs 1,000 to 10,000 yen, and the price includes a 500 yen deposit. You get the deposit back when you return the card at a JR East station, along with the balance, minus a 220 yen handling fee. For example, with 1,000 yen left you get 1,280 yen back. A card unused for 10 years stops working. Top-ups are cash only, up to 20,000 yen.
Rules that apply to every Suica
- Fares only. Suica pays the basic fare. For the Shinkansen, a limited express or a Green Car you need a separate ticket. See our guides to booking JR East Shinkansen on Ekinetto and the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka on smartEX.
- One area per trip. Suica works in Greater Tokyo, around Sendai, Niigata, Aomori, Morioka and Akita, and in parts of Hokkaido, the Tokai and West Japan regions, Kyushu and Okinawa, but you cannot ride from one area into another on it. Tokyo to Sendai needs a ticket. If you cross areas, leave the gate and enter again.
- It works with other cards' logos. Suica is accepted wherever you see the PASMO, ICOCA, TOICA, manaca, Kitaca, SUGOCA, nimoca or Hayakaken logos. Shops in the PiTaPa area do not take Welcome Suica.
- Keep some balance. If the balance is too low at the exit gate, top it up at the fare adjustment machine (のりこし精算機) inside the gate.
Japanese words for using Suica
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 残高 | ざんだか | zandaka | balance |
| 入金 / チャージ | にゅうきん / ちゃーじ | nyūkin / chāji | top-up |
| 改札 | かいさつ | kaisatsu | ticket gate |
| 乗り越し精算機 | のりこしせいさんき | norikoshi seisanki | fare adjustment machine |
| 券売機 | けんばいき | kenbaiki | ticket machine |
| 交通系ICカード | こうつうけいアイシーカード | kōtsūkei aishī kādo | transit IC card |
| 払い戻し | はらいもどし | haraimodoshi | refund |
| 残高不足 | ざんだかぶそく | zandaka busoku | not enough balance |
You'll hear 残高が不足しています (zandaka ga fusoku shite imasu, "your balance is too low") from the gate when you need to top up.
One useful sentence
At a konbini register:
Suicaにチャージお願いします。3000円で。
Suika ni chāji onegai shimasu. Sanzen-en de.
"I'd like to top up my Suica, 3,000 yen please."
〜で (~de) here means "with" or "as": "3,000 yen, as the amount." Hand over the cash, then tap your card or phone on the reader when the clerk asks.
Before you go
Our Japanese travel phrases cover the station, the Shinkansen ticket office, the konbini and the hotel desk. For the story of the Suica penguin and its successor, read our post on the Suica mascot vote. And for how JR East is changing Shinkansen booking, see JRE GO, its new 1-minute booking app.
Sources, all checked on October 22, 2026: JR East's pages on Welcome Suica, Welcome Suica Mobile, Suica, Suica on Apple Pay and topping up, JR East's Apple Pay Suica refund page, and Apple's guide to adding a transit card to Wallet.