Japan

[theageofthetra]

I picked up my Suica card from a the same travel firm in London who I ordered my rail passes through. It was invaluable and made life so much easier in Tokyo having it on arrival and just topped up at the airport station. I used it all across Japan it was just on Hiroshima's trans that it didn't work. All the top up machines I used had an English option and was straight forward. Its only disadvantage is the lack of any sort of daily cap like Oyster has.

The same firm also sold me a Japan Travel Sim which gave me 2gb of mobile data (no calls) which again was easy to set up (I did it whilst the plane taxied at Narita !)invaluable to have as the apartment I had in the Tokyo suburbs didn't have wifi. I was able to top it up at the larger branches of BIC Camera.

 

[paddington]

I picked up my Suica card from a the same travel firm in London who I ordered my rail passes through. It was invaluable and made life so much easier in Tokyo having it on arrival and just topped up at the airport station.

There is really no need to buy SUICA etc. cards before arriving in Japan. You could have bought one at the same time as your first top up. You might even have received a non-refundable scam card like the "Visitor Oyster"

I was wondering if any readers had experience of the Pasmo or Suica charge cards that can be used on the metros and buses. It seems that when they were brought out they were geographically restricted to Tokyo, but that use has since been extended to other areas. I have done a lot of Googling and I get the impression I could use one or the other in both Tokyo and Kyoto but not Nagasaki - these are the three places I am staying.

Generally all IC cards (as they are known, rather than "smartcards") are all interchangeable.

The difference between them is the issuing company and so if you want a refund you must get it from the same company that you bought it from. In practice, to avoid being confused, refund cards at the same place you bought them.

If you are arriving and departing the same Tokyo airport, you will certainly be able to refund the card you buy there. But if you are arriving Narita and departing Haneda or vice versa, you won't be able to refund as the cards at each airport are not issued by the same company.

What this means is, when you arrive buy a card and use it as your main card. If it ever doesn't work in a new city, just buy the local card and refund it before leaving that city.

I believe all cards have the same refund rules.

The deposit is ¥500 and this is always refundable in full. There is also a ¥220 fee which comes off the existing balance, but if the existing balance is less than ¥220 then the fee is reduced to whatever you have left.

You can't get a negative balance as stations all have fare machines inside and outside the gates, so if you don't have enough you must top up before exiting the gates.

 

[WideRanger]

There is really no need to buy SUICA etc. cards before arriving in Japan. You could have bought one at the same time as your first top up. You might even have received a non-refundable scam card like the "Visitor Oyster"



Generally all IC cards (as they are known, rather than "smartcards") are all interchangeable.

The difference between them is the issuing company and so if you want a refund you must get it from the same company that you bought it from. In practice, to avoid being confused, refund cards at the same place you bought them.

If you are arriving and departing the same Tokyo airport, you will certainly be able to refund the card you buy there. But if you are arriving Narita and departing Haneda or vice versa, you won't be able to refund as the cards at each airport are not issued by the same company.

What this means is, when you arrive buy a card and use it as your main card. If it ever doesn't work in a new city, just buy the local card and refund it before leaving that city.

I believe all cards have the same refund rules.

The deposit is ¥500 and this is always refundable in full. There is also a ¥220 fee which comes off the existing balance, but if the existing balance is less than ¥220 then the fee is reduced to whatever you have left.

You can't get a negative balance as stations all have fare machines inside and outside the gates, so if you don't have enough you must top up before exiting the gates.

I agree - buying in advance is completely pointless, since the machine that gives you the top up will also issue you the orginal card. It will also be more expensive than purchasing in Japan (because of transaction fees). At both Narita and Haneda airports there are JR stations issuing Suica - Tokyo monorail is run by JR, and you can buy PASMO at either too (Keisei station at Narita, Keikyu at Haneda). It really doesn't matter which you buy, because anywhere that accepts one will accept the other.

 

[theageofthetra]

I agree - buying in advance is completely pointless, since the machine that gives you the top up will also issue you the orginal card. It will also be more expensive than purchasing in Japan (because of transaction fees). At both Narita and Haneda airports there are JR stations issuing Suica - Tokyo monorail is run by JR, and you can buy PASMO at either too (Keisei station at Narita, Keikyu at Haneda). It really doesn't matter which you buy, because anywhere that accepts one will accept the other.

FYI I didn't pay any fees for my Suica- it was complementary as part of my Japan Rail Pass and other purchases such as the steam rail tours I booked with them.

I will be going back to Japan for the Rugby world cup in 2019 so wanted to keep hold of it.

 

[TravelDream]

Oh I love reading about Japan. It's such a special place - and it's not that expensive really. Probably comparable to, if not cheaper than, the UK. I'm sure you'll love it.
The railway museum in Kyoto is fantastic and they had some lovely steam models - especially the SR which you can ride.
I think you've made a mistake staying in Osaka though. I would have booked in Kyoto itself. It has to be, for me, the best Japanese city. The problem with staying in Osaka is that all the Kyoto attractions are fairly far from JR Kyoto station, and you have to take the metro, bus or both to get to most attractions (excluding those at the station of course!). That means you can have a fairly long commute both ways.
I've used the Suica easily in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. I haven't tried it in other cities I've visited though. It comes in handiest in Tokyo because there are three major train transport systems that you'll almost certainly use (the 2 Metro systems and the JR lines that run in the city, which all use different cash ticket systems).


I know you're all booked, but just to correct some misinformation above in case anyone else looks here.
JR Passes can't be used on any JR operated long-distance buses. They can, however, be used on local buses operated by JR (there aren't that many though).
JR Passes can be used on all express services, except Nozomi and Mizuho. You can't pay a supplement to use them either.
You can only make reservations once you exchange the pass in Japan.

Anyone looking to check timetables or whether the pass is worth it really needs to check out Hyperdia. It shows all valid routes, their cost and you can limit it to JR Pass valid routes only.

 

[Gareth]

Robert Schwandl's blog is well worth a read; documenting his visit to Japan and sampling some of its transportation systems last year...

http://schwandl.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/japan-kobe-subway-guided-systems.html