A Guide to Using Suica in Japan

"2025 update" I recently traveled to Japan, and using Suica for the subway and buses was very convenient. You can also add multiple cards to one iPhone and tap for other people. When you leave, you can spend down the remaining balance at a convenience store. Here is an updated guide.

About Suica

Japan is not a very credit-card-friendly society, although that is starting to change because of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan also has many transit cards to cover small transactions, such as vending machines and convenience stores, as well as public transportation like trains. Suica is one of the main transit cards in the Kanto region (Tokyo), and it is issued by JR East. Japanese transit cards have excellent interoperability, so if you have one Suica card, you can use it in most major regions of Japan. What many people do not know is that since the iPhone 8, all iPhones, whether or not they are Japan models, natively support Suica cards. Even better, you can top up Suica with a foreign credit card at any time without cash, which is very convenient for travelers. In addition, iPhone also supports opening Tokyo's PASMO card, which works similarly to Suica.

This trip, I used Suica in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, and it was very convenient. Of course, if a store accepts credit cards directly, I would use a card first.

System requirements

To use Suica, you need either

• a Japan model iPhone 7, or
• iPhone 8 or later

You can also use your own Apple Watch

• a Japan model Apple Watch Series 2, or
• Apple Watch Series 3 or later

In addition, to top up Suica with your phone, you need to add at least one Visa, JCB, Mastercard, or American Express (AMEX) card to Apple Pay. Discover and UnionPay are not supported for now. I have not tested other networks (Diners), so feedback is welcome. As a result, because most Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued in China do not support Apple Pay, they cannot be used for top-ups. Cards from other countries work without any issue.

How to add Suica

Add it directly on iPhone

iPhone can now search for and add Suica directly in Wallet.

• Open Wallet & Apple Pay in Settings, then find Add Card under Payment Cards

• Search for Suica

• Tap through and you will see the Suica introduction. If you already have a physical card, you can add it by scanning it

• To create a new card, you no longer need to load at least 1,000 yen. You can enter any reload amount you want and ignore the 1,000 shown below. Payment will automatically use the card in Apple Pay

• Once added, it is ready to use. One iPhone can hold multiple Suica cards; for example, I have three

The downside is that it only supports adult Suica cards; children's cards are not supported.

I already have a physical Suica card

If you already have a physical Suica card, you can open the Wallet app, choose Add Suica Card, and then follow the on-screen instructions to transfer the balance and the 500 yen deposit from the physical card to your phone. The process is quite simple. If you cannot find it, you can watch

• this video

Add it with the app

If you do not have a physical Suica card, you can download the free Suica app,

As for which credit card you should use to pay, we will cover that in the next section. After completing these steps, we can set Suica as the Express Transit Card, so you do not need to use Touch ID or Face ID every time you tap your transit card; it works even on the lock screen. You can also transfer the card to your Apple Watch and tap with the watch instead.

How to top up Suica

A Suica card on iPhone can also be topped up with cash at convenience stores, just like a physical card, for example at a 7-Eleven ATM. You can also use automatic top-up machines at a small number of train stations.

But since you are using iPhone Suica, how could you miss the most important feature: topping it up with a credit card? Topping up Suica is very easy. Open the Wallet app, select your Suica card, and tap Add Money. On iPhone, reloads start at 1,000 yen! Because the payment is treated as an overseas transaction, we recommend using a credit card with no foreign transaction fee. Also, if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, both reloads and card applications earn 3x points. Likewise, the Sapphire Preferred earns 2x points.

If the reload amount is very small, you can also use Citi Rewards+. In my testing, if the amount was only a few cents, the 3% foreign transaction fee was rounded away, and you still earned 10 ThankYou Points.

How to use multiple Suica cards

If you are traveling as a family, it is convenient to get a Suica card for everyone when taking the subway. If not everyone has an iPhone, or if an elderly family member is not comfortable using one, a single iPhone is enough. On this trip to Japan, everything worked smoothly, so let me walk through the steps.

• First, add all the Suica cards you need using the steps above. You can keep multiple cards at the same time, and each one shows its own balance. Just load the amount you need

• When entering the subway, each person needs to tap their own Suica card to enter. So first open Wallet & Apple Pay, then choose Express Transit Card

• Each person then selects a Suica card in order. You tap one card at the gate, and one person goes through. Then manually switch to the next Suica card, tap it at the gate, and let the next person through

• When you exit, just tap one card per person. Buses work the same way

This method still has limitations, though. If different people are getting off at different stations, you cannot use it this way. Also, iPhone cannot directly create a children's Suica card. If you are traveling with children, you will need to get the child version at the counter to enjoy the subway and bus discounts. Of course, if you do not care about that, you can also get an adult card for the child.

My thoughts

Because Suica normally can only be reloaded with cash, being able to top it up with a credit card not only earns extra points, but also provides a lot of practical convenience. Many places in Japan still accept only cash or transit cards and do not take credit cards. iPhone Suica effectively lets you complete those transactions with a credit card, while also earning 3x points if you have Sapphire Reserve. And because you can top up only as needed, you can avoid leaving too much balance on the card when you leave Japan. If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend using Suica on your phone.

If you want to ride the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen, you can also install the SmartEX app, buy your Shinkansen ticket on your phone, and use the linked mobile Suica card to enter the ticket gate. Set it up if you need it.

In addition, Apple Wallet also supports Beijing and Shanghai transit cards, and will support Hong Kong's Octopus card in the future. Apple's openness with transit cards has made things much easier for travelers. By contrast, Google Pay only supports devices purchased in Japan and does not support foreign accounts. I hope Google opens up these features someday too, as that would benefit everyone.