Suica for visitors to Japan: iPhone app, cards and limits

A Suica is a prepaid card for trains, buses and shops across Japan, and an iPhone can hold one. For a visitor there are two ways in: JR East's Welcome Suica Mobile app, built for foreign visitors, and Apple's own Wallet route. This guide is mostly about the app, because JR East publishes its rules in detail, and it ends with what Apple says about the Wallet route. The facts are as read on 10 October 2026.

The numbers that matter

¥20,000

Maximum balance

Applies to charging by app or in cash

180 days

Validity from issuance

The balance expires with the Suica, and expired balances are not refunded

¥0

Deposit and issuance fee

JR East says no deposit is taken and no usage fee is charged

Setting it up

1. 1

   Get the phone and the card ready

   You need an iPhone on iOS 17.2 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 3 or later, and an eligible credit, debit or prepaid card in Apple Pay. The card must be in your own name, and you must be 13 or older.

2. 2

   Turn on location and install the app

   JR East says the app cannot be used without location information, because it uses it to work out which country you are in when you charge.

3. 3

   Register a secret keyword

   Set the keyword in the app and keep it somewhere safe. It is how the Support Center confirms you, and how a lost phone is dealt with.

4. 4

   Make the first charge

   Registration and a charge of at least the minimum amount issues the Suica. If the app cannot charge from your country, JR East says to try again after you enter Japan.

5. 5

   Turn on Express Mode

   The App Store listing recommends it, so that you can pass ticket gates without biometric authentication. Biometric authentication may still be needed in shops.

What your Suica goes through

1. Day 0

   Registered and charged

   The first successful charge issues the Suica. One Suica can be issued per Apple Account.

2. Same day

   Shinkansen non-reserved seats

   JR East says that from the day of issue you can ride non-reserved seats on Shinkansen in its area with the balance. The App Store listing names the lines.

3. Days 1 to 180

   Use it

   Trains, buses and shops showing the IC logo. Charge up to ¥20,000 by app or in yen cash in Japan.

4. Day 180

   It expires

   The balance goes with it. A new Suica can be issued in the same app, and refunds are not available.

Which card to use

The card in Apple Pay does the paying, so the card's own terms apply. Top-ups are in yen, so a card that charges a foreign transaction fee adds it to each one, and a no-foreign-fee card avoids that. Whether a Suica top-up counts as travel or transit spend for a bonus category depends on how your issuer codes it, so look at your first statement instead of assuming. Paying abroad has the general routine.

JR East's rules say charging through the app may be restricted by the laws of the country where you are, including when your country cannot be confirmed. That is why the app asks for location, and why a decline at home can work after you land.

Apple Wallet is a separate route

Apple's support page says to add a Suica in Wallet you need an Apple Account signed in with two-factor authentication, an iPhone 8 or later or an Apple Watch Series 3 or later, and an eligible payment card in Apple Wallet. For Suica specifically, an iPhone 7 or later works, and an Apple Watch Series 2 or later if it was bought in Japan. Apple adds that many functions, including adding cards and adding money to transit cards, are unavailable between midnight and 5 a.m. Japan time. Apple's page covers the Wallet route and JR East's page covers the app, so read the one that matches the route you take.

Who it suits

Rules, fees and the supported devices change, so read JR East's page and the app listing on the day you set it up. This site takes no referral fees.