What is a Japanese IC card?
Suica, Pasmo and Icoca are rechargeable contactless cards used for trains, buses, convenience stores and vending machines all over Japan.
Stored value on a chip
A Japanese IC card is a prepaid card with a FeliCa chip inside. The money is stored on the card itself, not in an online account. When you tap a gate or a shop terminal, the reader updates the balance on the chip in a fraction of a second, which is why the gates stay open even in rush hour.
Because the value lives on the chip, the card works without a phone signal, without a bank card and without registration. Anyone can buy one and top it up with cash.
Where you can use it
- Trains, subways, monorails and most city buses
- Convenience stores, supermarkets and station kiosks
- Vending machines, coin lockers and taxis
- Many cafes, restaurants and drugstores
What the card remembers
The chip keeps the current balance plus roughly the last twenty transactions. Each entry holds the date, the amount, the type of use and, for train trips, codes for the entry and exit stations. That is what lets an app show your travel history without any server.
Common questions
Do IC cards expire?
Most IC cards stay valid as long as they are used from time to time. Unregistered cards that sit unused for around ten years can stop working and need to be handled at a station office.
Can I use one card across Japan?
The ten major cards are mutually compatible, so a Suica bought in Tokyo works on most trains, buses and shops in Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo.
Can I see how much money is left without a station machine?
Yes. Any NFC phone can read the balance and the recent history stored on the card chip, without any account or internet connection.
Read your own card
IC Japan reads the balance and history straight from the card with your phone. See how to check your balance.