Step-by-step guides
One task per page, written to be followed with a suitcase in one hand. Every claim that could change carries the date we last checked it and a link to the operator’s own page.
- Adding Suica to Apple Wallet
- Setting up Welcome Suica Mobile
- When your card is refused at the Suica top-up
- Topping up with cash
- Buying a physical IC card
- Refunds and leftover balance
- How long each card lasts
- When the gate rejects your card
Read these two first
If your phone can hold a Suica, the guide on adding one to Apple Wallet is the whole job. If it cannot, the guide on buying a physical card at the airport is. Everything else here exists for the moment something goes wrong — a refused card, a gate that will not open, a balance you cannot get back.
What "last checked" means on these pages
Fares, expiry rules and the list of countries you can pre-issue a Welcome Suica from all change without notice. Every guide carries the date we last read the operator’s own page, and links to it. If your trip is more than a few months away, open the link rather than trusting the summary.
The one rule that saves the most trouble
Carry 5,000 yen in banknotes on arrival. Almost every failure mode on this site — a declined card, an empty visitor-card counter, a phone with no FeliCa — stops being a problem the moment you can feed a ticket machine cash.
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Frequently asked questions
Which guide do I need if I am arriving tomorrow?
Run the checker on the home page first — it takes about twenty seconds and points at the one guide that applies to you. If you would rather skip it: iPhone 8 or later, read the Apple Wallet guide; anything else, read the guide on buying a physical card.
Do I need to set anything up before I fly?
Only if your phone can hold a Suica, in which case creating the card at home means you can tap straight out of the airport station. If you are buying plastic, there is nothing to do in advance beyond bringing cash.
Is any of this different outside Tokyo?
Barely. The same card works in Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo under the nationwide mutual-use agreement. What changes is where you buy it and which operator refunds it.
Are these guides official?
No. This site is not operated by or affiliated with JR East, PASMO, JR West, Apple, Google or Samsung. Each page links to the operator’s own documentation so you can check anything that matters.
Sources
- Suica (JR East, English) — JR East (Last checked 2026-09-09)
- Add a transit card to Apple Wallet in Japan — Apple (Last checked 2026-09-09)
- Welcome Suica Mobile (JR East) — JR East (Last checked 2026-09-09)