IC card guides
Short, practical guides about Japanese transit IC cards and reading them with your phone.
All guides
What is a Japanese IC card?
How Suica, Pasmo and Icoca work, what they can pay for and how the stored value on the chip is used.
How to check your IC card balance
Read the remaining balance on a Suica, Pasmo, Welcome Suica or Icoca card with an iPhone or Android phone.
How NFC IC card scanning works
Where to hold the card, why a scan fails and what the FeliCa chip actually stores about your trips.
Every Japanese IC card type
Major, tourist, regional and collaboration cards, and which of them work across the country.