Welcome Suica: the Suica for tourists

JR East offers a physical card designed specifically for foreign visitors: the Welcome Suica. It works exactly like a normal Suica — same tap, same top-up, same use as a wallet — but with two important differences:

• It has no deposit. On a normal Suica you pay a 500-yen refundable deposit; on the Welcome Suica there is no deposit, so the full amount you pay goes straight to the balance.
• It expires after 28 days. The card is valid for 28 days from the first time you use it. After that period it stops working and the remaining balance is not refunded, so it is worth using it up before you leave.

The physical Welcome Suica is ideal if your trip lasts less than four weeks and you do not want to bother returning the card or recovering a deposit at the end. It is bought at JR East Travel Service Centers and dedicated machines at Narita and Haneda airports and some Tokyo stations.

The private Tokyo metro (Tokyo Metro and Pasmo companies) has its own equivalent tourist card, the Pasmo Passport: likewise with no deposit and 28 days of validity, on sale at Narita and Haneda airports and at metro stations such as Ueno, Shinjuku or Ikebukuro. In practical terms it does not matter which of the two you take; choose whichever is most to hand on arrival.

Since March 2025 there is also the Welcome Suica Mobile, a free JR East app only for iPhone and Apple Watch (there is no Android version). Its great advantage is that it lasts 180 days instead of 28, so it covers long stays, and it is issued and topped up directly from the phone — with any card registered in Apple Pay, with no need for a Japanese card. It is, today, the most convenient option for those travelling with an iPhone.