Refunds and leftover balance
Whether you can get your money back depends entirely on which card you ended up with, and the difference is not small: one type hands back the deposit and the balance, another keeps everything you did not spend.
- Work out which card you have: ordinary Suica or PASMO, a Welcome Suica or Tourist PASMO, or a Suica in a phone.
- For an ordinary card, go to a staffed window of the operator that issued it — a JR East window for a Suica, a private railway or subway window for a PASMO.
- Hand over the card and ask for a refund. You get the 500 yen deposit back, plus the balance less a handling fee.
- For a visitor card or a Welcome Suica Mobile, do not go to a window: spend the balance instead.
- Airport shops, convenience stores and vending machines all take IC payment, so a last coffee and a bottle of water clears most of a small balance.
Ordinary Suica, PASMO and ICOCA
These are refundable at a window run by the issuing operator. You get the deposit back in full. The remaining balance is returned less a handling fee, so a card with a very small balance is often not worth the queue — spend it instead.
Welcome Suica and Welcome Suica Mobile
Neither is refundable. The physical Welcome Suica expires 28 days after issue and the mobile version 180 days after issue, and in both cases JR East states that the remaining balance is not returned. This is the reason to top up in small amounts near the end of a trip.
A Suica inside a phone
An ordinary Suica in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet does not expire, so there is no deadline to act on. The simplest thing is to leave the balance on it until your next trip. Deleting the card from the wallet without transferring the balance first can strand it, so do not delete it to "clean up" before you fly.
All guides
- 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
- How long each card lasts
- When the gate rejects your card
Frequently asked questions
Can I refund a Suica at any station?
Only at a window of the operator that issued the card. A JR East Suica cannot be cashed out at a JR West or Tokyo Metro window, and a PASMO cannot be refunded at a JR window.
What happens to a Welcome Suica balance I never spend?
It is forfeited when the card expires — 28 days for the physical card, 180 days for the mobile one. JR East does not refund it.
Should I refund my card at all?
If you expect to return to Japan, keep it. An ordinary physical card only lapses after ten years of no use, and a card in a phone does not lapse at all.
Sources
- Suica (JR East, English) — JR East (Last checked 2026-09-09)
- Welcome Suica Mobile (JR East) — JR East (Last checked 2026-09-09)