Urban transport and apps
IC cards are the key to Tokyo transit: Suica/PASMO are back in machines, tourist Welcome Suica and Tourist PASMO need no deposit, iPhones ride via Apple Wallet Express Mode while foreign Androids need a physical card. Essential apps: Google Maps, NAVITIME, GO taxi, SmartEX (with the Shinkansen oversized-baggage rule).
- Get an IC card before anything else. Several independent operators run Tokyo transit and one contactless card is the fastest way through every gate.
- Standard Suica and PASMO are back in the machines with a refundable 500 JPY deposit; the tourist versions are deposit-free and valid 28 days but refund no unused balance.
- On an iPhone, skip the physical card. Express Mode lets you tap without unlocking or Face ID, even on a dead battery.
- An Android bought outside Japan needs the physical card - foreign devices lack the FeliCa chip Japanese gates require.
- A free oversized-baggage reservation is mandatory on the Shinkansen when height + width + depth totals 160 to 250 cm; boarding without one costs 1,000 JPY at the gate. Over 250 cm is not allowed on board at all. The rule covers the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines.
Get an IC card before anything else. Urban transit in Tokyo and the other metropolises is run by several independent operators (JR East, Tokyo Metro, Toei Subway and private railways), and a contactless IC card is the cheapest and fastest way through the gates whoever runs the line.
- Standard Suica and PASMO - available again from ticket machines at most Tokyo stations since March 2025, after the chip shortage. A refundable 500 JPY deposit applies.
- Welcome Suica and Tourist PASMO - deposit-free tourist versions valid for 28 days. Tourist PASMO launched 20 May 2026 as the replacement for the discontinued PASMO Passport. Neither refunds unused balance.
- iPhone: skip the physical card. Add a transit card to Apple Wallet and Express Mode activates automatically - you tap the phone at the gates without unlocking or Face ID, even with a dead battery. The Welcome Suica Mobile app launched for iOS on 6 March 2025.
- Android bought outside Japan: buy the physical card. Foreign Android devices lack the FeliCa hardware chip - the Osaifu-Keitai standard Japanese gates require - so the integration is technically unavailable.
The apps that matter, on iOS and Android:
- Google Maps - the most accurate navigation for Japanese public transport. It shows the exact departure platform number, the fare, and the best subway car to board for a quick transfer.
- Japan Travel by NAVITIME - a journey planner built for foreign tourists, able to filter connections by the network passes you hold, such as the JR Pass.
- GO - the dominant local app for hailing an official licensed taxi at a fixed price.
- SmartEX - the official app for booking Shinkansen tickets on the Tokaido/Sanyo/Kyushu line (Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka), pairable directly with the IC card registered in your phone. Under rules effective July 2025 a free oversized-baggage seat reservation is mandatory on Shinkansen when the sum of three dimensions is 160–250 cm; boarding without one costs 1,000 JPY.
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