Suica (Japanese pronunciation: スイカ, Suika) is a prepaid rechargeable contactless smart card, electronic money used as a fare card on train lines in Japan, launched on November 18, 2001. The card can be used interchangeably with JR West‘s ICOCA in the Kansai region and San’yō region in Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi prefectures, and also with JR Central‘s TOICA, JR Kyushu‘s SUGOCA, Nishitetsu‘s Nimoca, and Fukuoka City Subway‘s Hayakaken area in Fukuoka City and its suburb areas. The card is also increasingly being accepted as a form of electronic money for purchases at stores and kiosks, especially within train stations. As of 2018, JR East reports 69.4 million Suica UID’s have been issued, usable at 476,300 point of sale locations, with 6.6 million daily transactions.
Since Suica is completely interchangeable with Pasmo (see Interoperation for the complete listing of companies and lines that accept Suica) in the greater Tokyo area, it is supported on virtually any train, tramway, and bus system (excluding various limited and shinkansen trains, as well as a few local buses as the system is still in the process of being extended to all routes).
Etymology
Suica stands for “Super Urban Intelligent CArd”. In the logo, the “ic” is highlighted, standing for the initialism of integrated circuit in “IC card”, which in turn is common Japanese vernacular for smart card. An additional meaning comes from the ideophone “sui sui” which means “to move smoothly”, intended to highlight the smooth simplicity of using the card compared with traditional train tickets. Since penguins can also swim smoothly through water, a penguin is used as a motif.
Uses
While Suica’s primary usage is as a fare card for transportation services, it can also be used as electronic money for general purchases. With the exception of archaic models of the Suica, all Suica have the logo, which indicates that the card can be used as an electronic money in addition to train fare usage. Older cards without the logo can be replaced at no cost. As of 2004, JR East employees use the card as an employee ID card.
Most vending machines, kiosks, and coin-operated lockers within JR stations can be paid with the card. In addition to payment, the card is also used as an electronic key to open the specific locker used. Outside of train stations, chain stores such as FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, Ministop, Yodobashi Camera and Bic Camera support transactions with Suica, however mostly restricted to the Kantō region only. A few shops at Narita International Airport, and taxis accept Suica. Stores that accept Suica are indicated by displaying either a Suica, Pasmo, Kitaca, Icoca, Toica, Sugoca, Nimoca, or Hayakaken logo. The card can also be used to make payments at supporting online shops, which requires the consumer to own a Sony FeliCa Reader hardware and a PC running the Windows operating system alongside the necessary drivers.
