Suica vs PASMO vs Welcome Suica: 2026 Tourist Guide

For most short trips, choose whichever visitor card is easiest to buy: Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO work in almost all the same places and charge the same underlying fares. Choose a regular Suica instead if you will stay longer than 28 days, want to reuse the card on a future trip or care about refunding the remaining balance.

The names make this decision look more complicated than it is. Suica is issued by JR East, PASMO is associated with Tokyo's private railways and subways, and both participate in Japan's nationwide IC-card network. The card logo matters much less than its validity, refund rules and where you arrive.

Quick comparison

The practical answer: there is no reason to cross Tokyo searching for one visitor card after you have found another. Get the convenient option, load a modest amount and start traveling.

What all three cards do

These are stored-value IC cards, not unlimited transport passes and not credit cards. Add yen to the balance, tap at a ticket gate, and the fare is deducted automatically. You can also tap at participating buses, convenience stores, vending machines, restaurants and coin lockers.

Suica and PASMO are part of the nationwide mutual-use network that includes ICOCA, Kitaca, TOICA, manaca, SUGOCA, nimoca and Hayakaken. A Tokyo-issued card is therefore useful during a typical Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka itinerary wherever the mutual-use logo appears.

There are limits. You generally cannot start a rail journey in one IC-card area and finish it in a disconnected area. Limited express trains, Green Cars and Shinkansen services can require a separate ticket or advance registration. An IC card removes the need to buy an ordinary local ticket each time; it does not automatically include every premium train.

Regular Suica: best for a long stay or return visit

A standard physical Suica includes a ¥500 deposit. JR East says the card becomes invalid only after ten years without use, which makes it the flexible choice for a long stay or another Japan trip in the future.

The remaining balance is refundable at JR East stations that handle Suica returns. JR East deducts a handling fee of up to ¥220 from the stored balance and returns the ¥500 deposit. A card issued by another operator must be returned through that operator, so do not wait until you are at the wrong airport terminal to deal with it.

Physical Suica top-ups are cash-based at compatible ticket and fare-adjustment machines. The published maximum balance is ¥20,000. That is a ceiling, not a recommended first load: ¥2,000–¥3,000 is normally enough to begin local travel while you learn your spending pattern.

Welcome Suica: the simple JR East visitor card

Welcome Suica is designed for temporary visitors. It has no deposit and works for 28 days beginning on the purchase date. The balance cannot be refunded, and a lost card cannot be reissued, so adding too much money near the end of a trip is the main risk.

JR East lists sales at selected travel service centers and machines, including locations at Narita Airport, Haneda Airport and major stations. Availability can change by location; use the current JR East sales list rather than relying on an old travel forum.

Welcome Suica can be topped up only with cash. Keep the reference paper issued with the card because it shows the real expiration date. The date printed on the back of the plastic is not necessarily your personal expiry date.

TOURIST PASMO: the newer airport option

TOURIST PASMO launched in May 2026 for international visitors on short stays. Like Welcome Suica, it has no deposit, is valid for 28 days and does not allow a refund of unused value.

PASMO's launch information lists ticket windows and machines at Narita and Haneda airports. At Narita, the published initial price is ¥2,000 with the full ¥2,000 stored as usable value. Haneda sales offer several initial amounts from ¥1,000 upward, also without a separate deposit.

The card works on participating trains and buses in the Tokyo area and across the nationwide mutual-use network, plus shops that accept compatible transportation IC cards. It is not cheaper on Tokyo Metro merely because PASMO is connected with private rail operators. For an ordinary trip, the same route determines the fare.

Welcome Suica or TOURIST PASMO?

For a trip of 28 days or less, the two visitor cards are close substitutes. Choose based on the counter or machine in front of you:

• Buy Welcome Suica if a JR East machine or service center is convenient.
• Buy TOURIST PASMO if its Narita or Haneda sales point has the shorter queue.
• Do not replace one with the other mid-trip just for the logo. Use down the first balance instead.

Neither visitor card refunds ordinary leftover value. During the final two days, stop making large top-ups and spend the balance at a convenience store, vending machine or other participating merchant. You cannot normally split one small purchase between an IC-card balance and cash, so check the balance before tapping.

What about PASMO, PASMO PASSPORT and mobile cards?

Standard PASMO is the regular, reusable counterpart issued by PASMO operators. PASMO PASSPORT is old information: its sale ended in 2024 and TOURIST PASMO is the current visitor product.

iPhone users also have mobile options. Welcome Suica Mobile is a separate JR East product with different rules, including a published 180-day validity period. A mobile Suica can be convenient because the phone becomes the card, but foreign-card top-up behavior can vary by card issuer and system conditions. Do not confuse the mobile product's validity with the 28-day physical Welcome Suica described above.

If your phone battery, card issuer or Apple Wallet setup makes you uncertain, a physical visitor card plus a small cash reserve remains the least complicated combination.

How much should you load?

Start with ¥2,000–¥3,000 for local transport and small purchases, then top up as needed. A busy urban sightseeing day can consume around ¥800–¥1,200 in local transit before any convenience-store taps, but the total depends on distance and city.

Remember that an IC-card balance is still part of your yen budget. Moving ¥5,000 from your wallet onto Suica does not create extra spending money. Track it alongside cash and card spending in the Japan travel budget guide, and use our daily cash guide to decide how large a backup wallet you need.

JPY Converter can translate the yen balance or ticket-machine amount into your home currency using the latest cached reference rate. It also works offline, which is useful in underground stations where a data connection can be unreliable.

The bottom line

For a short trip, Welcome Suica and TOURIST PASMO are functionally similar: both are deposit-free, last 28 days and sacrifice any value left behind. Buy the convenient one. Choose regular Suica when longevity and refundability matter, and avoid overloading any visitor card during the final days of your trip.