Suica vs ICOCA vs Pasmo 2026 — Which IC Card to Buy & Where

Suica vs ICOCA vs Pasmo: The Core Differences

All three cards do the same basic job — tap to ride trains, subways, and buses, and tap to pay at convenience stores and vending machines almost anywhere in Japan. What separates them is price, deposit, and what happens to your balance when the trip ends — covered in the table below.

!Welcome Suica IC card for tourists, issued by JR East *Photo: Ravi Dwivedi (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons*

!ICOCA charging machine on a Japanese station platform *Photo: excl-zoo (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons*

• Refundable cards (regular Suica, ICOCA): return the card at a JR ticket office before you leave to get the deposit back — ICOCA deducts a ¥220 handling fee if balance remains.
• No-refund cards (Welcome Suica, Tourist Pasmo): no deposit, but no refund either — leftover balance stays on the card as a souvenir.

Can You Use One Card Everywhere in Japan?

Yes, mostly. Suica, ICOCA, and Pasmo are 3 of 10 IC cards — Kitaca, Suica, PASMO, TOICA, manaca, ICOCA, PiTaPa, SUGOCA, nimoca, and Hayakaken — accepted at each other's ticket gates and on participating buses nationwide. In practice:

!IC card automatic ticket gate at a Japanese train station *Photo: Mr.ちゅらさん (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons*

• A Welcome Suica from Haneda taps through Osaka Metro and JR West gates fine.
• An ICOCA from Osaka taps through Tokyo Metro and JR East gates fine.
• Exception: a few regional lines — e.g. Kanto Railway, Chiba Monorail — only accept PASMO or Suica. Check gate signage if you're off the main JR/subway grid.

Card or Phone? Mobile IC Card Options

• iPhone → Welcome Suica Mobile: issue and top up in Apple Wallet before your trip. Valid 180 days, and also books Shinkansen/Green Car reserved seats.
• Android → no tourist mobile option; pick up a physical card at the airport instead.
• Regular mobile Suica/PASMO/ICOCA → possible with a Japan-region Apple ID or Google Wallet, but setup is involved — skip it for a short trip.

Related Passes Worth Comparing

IC cards are great for point-to-point rides, but they're not always the cheapest option if you know your route in advance — and they don't cover reserved Shinkansen seats on their own. For a subway-heavy day in Tokyo, or when combining Tokyo with other cities by rail, it's worth comparing a prepaid pass against topping up a card.

• Tokyo Subway Ticket (24/48/72h unlimited Metro + Toei) — from $5.55 (KKday)
• JR Whole Japan Rail Pass (7/14/21-day, nationwide JR + shinkansen) — from $321.72 (GetYourGuide)
• Japan Unlimited Data eSIM — from $0.49 (KKday)

Prices are alvin.travel's own tracked platform data, current as of late July 2026 — re-check live prices before booking, since rates shift with platform promotions.