r/TravelToJapan

We've seen it in at least a dozen Japan travel groups this week. A neat little graphic, official-looking logos, a comparison table and advice that will genuinely confuse you at the gate.

The core claim is that different cards work in different cities. Suica for Tokyo, ICOCA for Osaka, that kind of thing. It's not true. Every major Japan transport card works across the entire country wherever the IC card logo is displayed. Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, Welcome Suica, Tourist ICOCA. Same system, different companies issuing them in different regions. Pick whichever one is easiest to get your hands on.

The real difference between a regular card and a tourist card is not where it works. Tourist cards expire after 28 days and you don't get a deposit refund. That's it.

A few other things worth knowing. Each person needs their own card. iPhone users can load Suica, PASMO or ICOCA straight into Apple Wallet and skip the machine entirely. Android users will need a physical card for now, though Samsung support is reportedly coming with the Galaxy S27 in 2027.

Travelling with kids? Children aged 6 to 11 need their own physical card obtained at the station counter with their passport. This sets the card to child fares at 50% off automatically, valid until March 31 of the year they turn 12. Under 6s travel free with no card needed. And yes, the gate makes a different sound for a child card. Caught us off guard the first time.

One last thing: the 10 year expiry is 10 years since last use, not from when you bought the card. Old cards from past trips are almost certainly still valid.

Have you ever been given wrong advice about Japan transport cards before your trip?

Before our very first trip to Japan, over a decade ago now, one of the planning principles we always used was to mix city stays with rural and regional locations. We still recommend it to everyone to this day!

So even on that first Japan trip, after Tokyo, Kyoto and a day at USJ, we headed somewhere most people had never heard of. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, then Nagano, then Shibu Onsen, a tiny mountain town near the Jigokudani Monkey Park where snow monkeys sit in steaming hot springs (even in Fall!).

We also did the early morning thing in the popular spots. Up at 6am to see Arashiyama bamboo forest before the crowds arrived. That worked too. But I still recall how overwhelmed I felt walking down a street in Shibuya with one of the largest crowds of people I have ever experienced on a normal street!

But when we look back on that first trip, it's the second half we talk about. Not the famous shrines. Not Dotonbori. The Alpine Route. Matsumoto Castle - I was so relieved to visit it with only a few visitors around! The monkeys. The onsen town where we were the only tourists.

Tokyo and Kyoto were everything people said they would be. The rest of it felt like we'd actually found Japan.

The map says it all really.

If you want a starting point: the Izu Peninsula, Nagano, Takayama and the western side of Mt Fuji are all easy to add and completely different in feel.

Drop your current itinerary in the comments. We'll tell you where we'd add something unexpected!

r/TravelToJapan

Great Japan itinerary. Shame about the other three million people with the same one.