Suica and Pasmo cards that you can buy anywhere without registering personal data will be back in time for the spring travel season.

Whether you’re traveling in Japan or living in the country, one of the most useful things to have in your wallet is a Suica or Pasmo card. These prepaid cards originally started out as methods for paying for train and subway tickets. Simply tap the card at the turnstile when entering the station, then again when exiting at your destination station, and the necessary funds will automatically be deducted. When your card gets low, just insert it into a terminal and refill the funds using either cash or your credit card, and you’re back in action.

It wasn’t long until Suica/Pasmo compatibility was expanded beyond rail tickets, though, and now they can be used to quickly and conveniently make purchases at a huge number of restaurants and shops in Japan, plus to buy drinks and snacks from the nation’s ubiquitous vending machines. However, in June of 2023 Pasmo Co. and JR East, who administer the Pasmo and Suica systems, were forced to stop issuing new cards due to a semiconductor shortage which prevented them from acquiring the necessary materials for the cards’ embedded IC chips.

Thankfully, though, JR East and Pasmo Co. have finally sorted out their supply chain problems, and have jointly announced that they’ll be simultaneously resuming the issue of new unregistered Suica and Pasmo cards, which require no disclosure of personal information, next week.

▼ In addition to unregistered regular Suica and Pasmo cards, the unregistered Rinkai Suica Card, with adorable Rinkai Line dolphin mascot character Rinkaru, will also be returning.

The return of unregistered cards marks the final step in the complete restoration of Suica/Pasmo availability. It wasn’t until the start of September 2024 that new registered cards, which require the user to register your name, phone number, date of birth, and gender when creating a card, became available again, and while some travelers had a had a workaround in the form of the inbound foreign tourist-oriented Welcome Suica, these could only be purchased at international airports and the most major train stations. Welcome Suica cards are also only valid for 28 days, making them impractical for those on extended trips, and users are also technically required to carry a reference paper outlining the card’s terms and conditions. Unregistered Suica and Pasmo cards, on the other hand, can be purchased in just about every moderately sized station in east Japan with just a few quick taps on the ticket terminal.

Unregistered Suica and Pasmo cards are set to become available on March 1.

Source: PR Times, NHK News Web
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