The short answer
Buy the card issued where you arrive. A regular Suica, PASMO or ICOCA works on most mutually compatible urban rail, bus and retail readers nationwide, so there is usually no reason to replace it when you move between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. The real decision is physical or mobile, then regular or visitor card.
For most overseas visitors:
- Compatible iPhone: add a transit card in Apple Wallet or use Welcome Suica Mobile if its 180-day, non-refundable rule suits the trip.
- Overseas Android: check the exact model for FeliCa/Osaifu-Keitai support; if uncertain, buy a physical card.
- Short Tokyo-area trip: physical Welcome Suica or TOURIST PASMO avoids a deposit, but expires after 28 days and does not refund unused value.
- Kansai arrival: regular physical ICOCA is the natural choice and remains usable in other compatible regions.
Compare the products before buying
| Product | Form | Deposit | Validity | Unused-value refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Suica | Physical or supported mobile form | ¥500 for physical card | Long-term operator rule | Physical card: yes, through the issuer in the Suica area |
| Regular PASMO | Physical or supported mobile form | ¥500 for physical card | Long-term operator rule | Physical card: yes, at a supporting PASMO-area station or bus office |
| Regular ICOCA | Physical or supported mobile form | ¥500 for physical card | Long-term operator rule | Physical card: yes, in the JR West ICOCA area; supported machines may handle it |
| Physical Welcome Suica | Physical visitor card | None | 28 days | No |
| Welcome Suica Mobile | iPhone / Apple Watch visitor product | None | Stored value valid 180 days from issuance | No |
| TOURIST PASMO | Physical visitor card | None | 28 days | No |
TOURIST PASMO launched in May 2026 and is sold at specified Narita and Haneda airport locations. PASMO PASSPORT is a different retired product; its sales ended in October 2024. Do not use an older PASMO PASSPORT guide as a TOURIST PASMO instruction page.
The refund rule belongs to the issuer
A card’s national interoperability does not make refunds national. Return or refund the physical card inside its issuing system:
- Regular physical Suica: JR East says JR East-issued cards are returned at JR East stations. The stored balance is reduced by up to ¥220, then the ¥500 deposit is added. Cards issued by another Suica company must go back to that issuer.
- Regular physical PASMO: take it to a supporting PASMO-area station or bus office. Some counters do not process refunds. The card is collected; the balance is reduced by the applicable fee and the ¥500 deposit is returned. Named cards require identification.
- Regular physical ICOCA: refund it at a JR West ticket office in the ICOCA area or a supported refund machine. Do this before leaving JR West territory if the trip ends elsewhere.
- Welcome Suica, Welcome Suica Mobile and TOURIST PASMO: unused value is not refunded. Spend the remainder on eligible transport or purchases before expiry.
- Mobile cards: app, account and payout rules differ from the physical-card process. Do not assume an airport counter can cash out a phone wallet.
This is why “refund at the airport” is unsafe advice. Haneda or Narita may be convenient for a Suica or PASMO issued in the Tokyo area, while a traveler holding ICOCA needs a JR West refund point before leaving the ICOCA area. A small remaining balance may be easier to spend than refund.
Mobile setup: phone model matters more than nationality
Apple Wallet supports adding Suica, PASMO and ICOCA on compatible iPhone and Apple Watch models. Welcome Suica Mobile is the visitor-specific JR East product and uses Apple Pay for top-ups when the card and device meet its requirements.
Ordinary Mobile Suica is a separate service. JR East’s visitor guidance warns that overseas-issued credit cards generally cannot be registered in the ordinary app, so do not confuse it with Welcome Suica Mobile. Card-brand acceptance can also change. Carry a physical payment fallback even after a successful setup.
Many overseas Android phones lack the required FeliCa/Osaifu-Keitai implementation. An Android phone that supports NFC payments at home is not automatically compatible with Japanese mobile transit cards. Check the exact model, or buy a physical card after arrival.
Three completed-trip accounts add practical context without replacing the official rules:
- A May 2025 traveler used Apple Wallet Suica over two weeks, kept it in Express Mode and used smartEX for Shinkansen bookings.
- A December 2023 honeymoon report set up separate Suica cards for two travelers and found smartEX purchasing and schedule changes straightforward after the initial setup.
- A May 2024 two-week trip linked a smartEX Shinkansen reservation to Suica; the author noted that the full Suica number required the Suica app rather than Apple Wallet alone.
Their shared lesson is convenience after setup; their individual top-up amounts and cards are not universal recommendations.
An IC card is not a general Shinkansen ticket
Stored value normally pays local IC fares. It does not by itself buy a reserved Shinkansen journey.
| Service | What the IC card does | What pays the journey |
|---|---|---|
| smartEX | Acts as the gate-entry credential after the card is registered to a booking | The separately purchased smartEX reservation |
| JR East Touch de Go! Shinkansen | After advance registration, taps into eligible non-reserved JR East Shinkansen sections | Fare is deducted under Touch de Go rules |
| Ordinary reserved ticket | May be linked or used alongside a ticket where the operator allows | Separate rail/express ticket or reservation |
smartEX covers the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen booking flow. Registering an IC card lets that card open the gate for the already-paid reservation; it does not deduct the Shinkansen price from the stored balance. Touch de Go is a different JR East programme for eligible non-reserved travel and requires registration before use.
The retained affiliate link can be used to compare a Tokyo–Kyoto Shinkansen product, but this article no longer quotes a past sample date or price. Confirm the current train, seat, collection method and cancellation terms before paying: Tokyo–Kyoto Shinkansen option.
Affiliate disclosure: If you book through this affiliate link, Next Trip Notes may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Buying and topping up
Buy from the operator where you arrive. Regular physical cards commonly start with a ¥500 deposit plus stored value. TOURIST PASMO has airport-specific denominations and sales points; Welcome Suica has its own JR East sales channels. Stock and machine availability can vary, so follow the current operator page rather than a generic airport checklist.
Physical cards can usually be topped up with cash at compatible ticket machines and participating convenience stores. Mobile products use their own Apple Pay or app rules and may also support cash charging at compatible machines. Keep the balance modest near the end of the trip.
Final checklist
- Check the exact phone model before relying on a mobile card.
- Buy the regional regular card or visitor product that is actually sold at the arrival point.
- Treat visitor-card balance as non-refundable.
- For a regular physical card, identify the issuer-area refund point before leaving that region.
- Buy or register Shinkansen travel separately; do not assume stored value covers it.
- Keep another payment method for failed top-ups or unsupported readers.
Last checked: 2026-10-20.
Sources & verification
A source-based guide. Check the linked operator information again before you travel.
- TOURIST PASMO press releaseSources checked:
- PASMO refund rulesSources checked:
- JR East Welcome Suica purchaseSources checked:
- JR East Welcome Suica MobileSources checked:
- JR East Mobile Suica visitor guideSources checked:
- JR West ICOCA refund guideSources checked:
- JR East Touch de Go! ShinkansenSources checked:
- JR Central IC-card Shinkansen boardingSources checked:
- Traveler report: two weeks with Apple Wallet SuicaSources checked:
- Traveler report: 20-day honeymoon with Suica and smartEXSources checked:
- Traveler report: two-week trip linking smartEX and SuicaSources checked:
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