IC cards · Tokyo · Kansai · 2026
ICOCA or Suica for a Tokyo and Kansai trip?
By Echoes, Founder & Editor · Published October 23, 2026
Buy one card where you start, and use it in both regions. Welcome Suica has no ¥500 deposit, lasts 28 days from purchase, and the balance is not refunded. A physical Suica or ICOCA keeps the ¥500 deposit and is refunded only by its own company. The brand does not change the local fare. None of these cards is a Haruka or Shinkansen ticket.
Checked October 23, 2026 on JR East and JR West. The ICOCA balance-handling fee in yen is needs-verify. PASMO PASSPORT is no longer sold.Which card to get where you land
| Card | Deposit | How long it lasts | Getting money back | Practical buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Suica | None. Sold in ¥1,000 steps from ¥1,000 to ¥5,000, plus ¥10,000. | 28 days including the purchase date. It expires on day 29. The date on the back is not the expiry. | No refund of the balance. A malfunction refund is the exception, and only at a JR East office in a Suica area. | Narita or Haneda, if that counter is selling it. Stock moves. A trip longer than 28 days outgrows it. |
| Suica | ¥500, returned when you hand the card back. | No 28-day tourist expiry. Unused for 10 years, it becomes invalid. | JR East stations only, for a card JR East issued. ¥220 is taken from the balance. The ¥500 deposit still comes back even if the balance is ¥0. | Tokyo first, and you may want the deposit back, or you will return to Japan. |
| ICOCA | ¥500 on a physical card. | An ordinary ICOCA is not a 28-day visitor card. | JR West stations inside the ICOCA area. If the calculated refund is at or below the handling fee, only the ¥500 deposit is paid. The fee amount is needs-verify. | Kansai first. Do not expect a Narita counter to cash it out. |
| Visitor-design ICOCA at KIX | The ¥2,000 price includes the ¥500 deposit, so ¥1,500 is stored value. | Same physical ICOCA, not a Welcome Suica clone. One per person. | Same ICOCA refund rules. Not a souvenir you are meant to throw away with value on it. | JR ticket office at Kansai Airport Station. Foreign passport, Temporary Visitor status. Japanese nationals are not eligible, including those with permanent residence abroad. |
| TOURIST PASMO | None, on the current visitor card. | 28 days from sale. | Remaining value is not refunded after expiry. | Where PASMO is actually on sale. PASMO PASSPORT sales have ended. See Welcome Suica vs TOURIST PASMO. |
The minimum cash top-up for an ordinary ICOCA from a station machine, outside that ¥2,000 airport design card, is needs-verify. Confirm the machine screen before you count on a smaller first charge.
One card is enough, with two hard limits
- Local taps work across the logos. JR East says Welcome Suica works on trains and buses showing Suica, ICOCA, PASMO, TOICA and the other nationwide marks, including parts of West Japan. JR West says ICOCA works across Japan where those marks are shown. You do not need a second card when you move from Tokyo to Osaka.
- You cannot tap through two IC areas on one ride. JR East’s Welcome Suica note is the clearest statement: transportation started in one area must end in that area. Leave the gate, then enter again. The published example is Tokyo to Sendai, and the same boundary applies between the Tokyo area and Kansai.
- Limited expresses and the Shinkansen are extra tickets. Tapping ICOCA or Suica does not pay the HARUKA from Kansai Airport or a Tokaido Shinkansen seat. See Haruka vs bus vs Nankai.
- The fare is the operator’s fare. ICOCA is not a discount on Suica, and Suica is not a discount on Osaka Metro. For a Tokyo subway-only stretch, compare the Tokyo Subway Ticket with pay-per-ride. For Suica versus PASMO inside Tokyo, use Suica vs PASMO.
- PiTaPa shops are a hole. JR East says Welcome Suica cannot be used at stores in PiTaPa areas. Transport gates that show a compatible logo are a separate question from shop terminals.
Phone cards are not the same product
The Apple Wallet page already cited on the IC card guide lists ordinary Suica, PASMO, ICOCA and TOICA for supported iPhone and Apple Watch models. That is a standard card in Wallet, not Welcome Suica. JR West also documents ICOCA on Apple Pay. A mobile ICOCA or Apple Pay ICOCA does not collect the ¥500 deposit; if you imported a physical card, JR West says that deposit was added to the stored balance instead, and a later refund does not pay a deposit. Welcome Suica Mobile is a different JR East app: no deposit, valid 180 days from issue, and the balance expires with no ordinary refund.
Android and other NFC phones are needs-verify for each app. Do not assume a foreign phone can issue ICOCA because an iPhone can. If the phone is uncertain, buy the physical card at the airport you actually land at. Battery death is a gate problem either way. See mobile Suica vs a physical card and the card-type picker.
What to do on the last day
Spend a Welcome Suica or TOURIST PASMO down. The balance will not be waiting at the airport. A physical Suica can be returned at JR East, including the ¥500 deposit, after ¥220 comes off the balance. An ICOCA goes back to JR West inside the ICOCA area, not to a JR East Narita counter. If your flight home is from Narita and the ICOCA still holds more than a meal, the practical choice is often to spend it in Kansai before you leave that area. The exact ICOCA handling fee is needs-verify, so do not subtract ¥220 and call it an ICOCA rule. ¥220 is the Suica figure.
Children do not ride an adult card at the child fare. Check the child product on the IC card guide and the child fare guide before you buy one card for the family.
FAQ
Common questions
Can I use a Suica in Osaka and Kyoto?
Yes for local trips that start and end inside a participating IC area, including JR West routes that accept ICOCA. You cannot ride one continuous trip from one IC area into another. Exit, then enter again. A Suica does not replace a Haruka or Shinkansen ticket.
Is ICOCA cheaper than Suica?
No. Both are stored-value cards. The operator sets the fare. The card name does not discount it.
Can I refund an ICOCA at Narita?
Do not plan on it. JR East refunds a Suica it issued, at a JR East station. JR West refunds an ICOCA at a station inside the ICOCA area. A Welcome Suica balance is not refunded at all, except a documented card malfunction.
Should I buy both an ICOCA and a Suica?
No, for a normal Tokyo-plus-Kansai trip. One participating card taps local gates in both regions. A second card adds a second ¥500 deposit or a second non-refundable balance.
What is the ICOCA refund fee?
The yen amount of the ICOCA handling fee is needs-verify on the current English page. JR West does say that if the calculated refund is at or below the handling fee, only the ¥500 deposit comes back, and mobile ICOCA has no deposit to return. A Suica handling fee is ¥220, deducted from the balance, with the ¥500 deposit still returned.
Sources
Official sources, opened and checked on October 23, 2026:
- JR East: Suica deposit ¥500, ¥220 handling fee, JR East refund only, 10-year rule
- JR East: Welcome Suica has no deposit and lasts 28 days; Suica balance can be refunded
- JR East: Welcome Suica prices, 28-day validity, no ordinary refund
- JR East: Welcome Suica coverage and the ban on continuous travel between IC areas
- JR East FAQ: Welcome Suica versus Suica, and no balance refund
- JR West: visitor-design ICOCA at Kansai Airport, ¥2,000 including ¥500 deposit
- JR West (Japanese): ICOCA refund locations, ¥500 deposit, mobile ICOCA has no deposit refund
- JR East: Welcome Suica Mobile, 180 days, balance expires
Device support for Suica, PASMO, ICOCA and TOICA in Apple Wallet is the page already linked from the IC card guide (Apple Support). TOURIST PASMO’s 28-day, no-deposit shape is the current product on TripWorth’s visitor-card page, which points at PASMO’s own conditions. PASMO PASSPORT is discontinued.
TripWorth does not sell cards. Confirm the counter’s current stock before you queue. How we check fares.