Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, SUGOCA and six more: what each card is, where it comes from, and why — for riding trains — it hardly matters which one you hold.
地域別のICカード
One card, almost all of Japan
Each region has its own card, but all ten work on each other's trains, subways and buses. Buy whichever is easiest where you land — it will work in the other cities too.
No home card — use any of the ten.
訪日客向けカード
No refund of the balance. Top up with cash (up to ¥20,000), also at Seven Bank ATMs. The GOOD THRU date on the back is not the expiry date — keep the reference paper you get.
iPhone and Apple Watch only for now — JR East and Samsung plan Galaxy support from 2027. The balance expires after 180 days. The app can also buy Green Car tickets and Shinkansen seats.
On sale since May 2026, replacing the old PASMO PASSPORT. No refund; lost cards aren't reissued. Top up in ¥1,000 steps.
Refunded like a normal ICOCA at JR West ticket offices.
10カード比較
JR Hokkaido · JR Hokkaido around Sapporo–Asahikawa and Hakodate
JR East · JR East around Tokyo, Sendai, Niigata, Aomori, Morioka and Akita, plus Tokyo's subways and buses
PASMO Co. (Tokyo-area private railways, subways and buses) · Tokyo Metro, Toei and the private railways and buses around Tokyo
JR Central · JR Central around Nagoya, Shizuoka and Mie
Meitetsu, Nagoya City Transportation and other Nagoya-area operators · Nagoya subway and buses, Meitetsu and other Nagoya-area lines
JR West · JR West around Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Okayama and Hiroshima
Surutto KANSAI · Kansai private railways and subways (Osaka Metro, Hankyu, Keihan…)
JR Kyushu · JR Kyushu around Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Miyazaki
Nishitetsu group · Nishitetsu trains and buses in Fukuoka, plus Oita, Nagasaki trams, Kumamoto trams, Hakodate and more
Fukuoka City Subway · Fukuoka City Subway
使えない場所
On ordinary trains, one trip has to start and finish inside the same IC area — for example you can't tap in in Tokyo and tap out in Sendai or Nagoya. Buy a paper ticket for those trips.
How to use IC cards on the train| Local card | Where | Suica etc. accepted? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAPICA | Sapporo | Yes | Sapporo's subway, streetcar and main bus lines accept all ten cards. |
| ecomyca / passca | Toyama | Partly | The city tram accepts nationwide cards; Toyama Chiho Railway's trains and buses don't. |
| desuca | Kochi | No | Tosaden mentions only desuca; its bus guidance says cards from outside Kochi, such as Suica, can't be used. |
| OKICA | Okinawa | Partly | The Yui Rail monorail accepts Suica and the other nationwide cards; for buses, check before you ride. |
| Kumamon IC Card | Kumamoto | Partly | The city tram accepts nationwide cards. Kumamoto's local buses and Kumamoto Electric Railway dropped them in November 2024 in favour of credit-card touch (local press report). |
| IC i-Card (ended) | Matsuyama | Yes | Iyotetsu's own card ended in September 2025; its trains, trams and buses take ICOCA and the other nationwide cards. |
| PASPY (ended) | Hiroshima | Yes | PASPY ended in March 2025; Hiroden trams accept the ten cards. |
Card rules change — last checked 3 Nov 2026. Check the issuer's site before you buy.