Suica
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 4 transit passes
People recommend it for speed, acceptance across Japan's trains and shops, and easy phone setup; the most common caveat is that topping up needs a Japanese bank or cash.
People recommend it for speed, acceptance across Japan's trains and shops, and easy phone setup; the most common caveat is that topping up needs a Japanese bank or cash.
88 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 72
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 10 years
Median of the 6 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 72 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fast, smooth gate and payment tapping
“The combination of its speed and universal acceptance across Japan makes this by far the best system anywhere.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “Suica is very convenient because it makes entering station gates very smooth.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “it's really quite fast compared to more general balance card services”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” - Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
- Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
- Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
- Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
Easy setup in Apple or Google Wallet
“On iPhone it’s insanely easy to you just request right from the wallet app and you can even reload it there.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “Takes 30 seconds in Apple Wallet to issue a new card and put an initial load on it.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Japan's trains are great. Why is booking one so hard?” “Took me roughly a minute to create one within Apple Wallet ahead of my trip”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” - Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
- Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
- Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
Accepted across trains, shops and transfers
“The combination of its speed and universal acceptance across Japan makes this by far the best system anywhere.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “once I understood that I should link my HSR tickets to my Suica card, my travels through it became very simple”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Japan's trains are great. Why is booking one so hard?” “other than the speed and convenience, I was amazed that I could use my same Suica card”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” - Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
- Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Japan's railways stayed one while splitting apart”
No battery and easy top-up
“The cards have no battery and aren’t self-powered in any way.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “Easy to top up at the plentiful, dedicated top up machines.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “Cards are fun, collectable, and never run out of battery.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” - Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Top-up needs cash or Japanese bank
“putting money on the card is a problem if you don't have a credit/debit card issued by a Japanese bank”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “you can get it only in some kind of machines, and you need to pay it cash”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “SUICA makes those easy, unless you need a recharge to top it up.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” - Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card”
Not every shop or phone supports it
“There's a large department store near my home where I can pay with Suica on some floors but not on others.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Japan's trains are great. Why is booking one so hard?” “The Suica app doesn't even work on my Pixel 10 Pro, since it requires an Android phone with some sort of Japan-specific hardware”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “The peculiar case of Japanese web design” “wasn't allowed to use the mobile Suica app, even though the hardware supports it”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Founder of 7/11 Japan, Toshifumi Suzuki, has died at age 93” Expires or fails during OS updates
“it works fine when the battery runs out; but it does _not_ work during the OS update process.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “expires and is completely dead after 30 days, even if it has a balance”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” Activation delays and top-up failures
“the system wouldn't accept any of the credit cards or her debit card that she had registered with Apple Pay”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Founder of 7/11 Japan, Toshifumi Suzuki, has died at age 93” “Sometimes it wouldn't even activate until I tapped it again, other times there was a delay.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “I've also had issues topping up my (virtual) Suica card late at night before.”
Comment from 23 Feb 2026 in “The peculiar case of Japanese web design”
Other transit passes people recommend
The three most recommended other transit passes, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuicaThis page | 72 | 16 | 82% | 6 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Interrail pass | 15 | 6 | 71% | 1 | 20 yrs4 owners | — |
| Deutschlandticket | 8 | 4 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
| Dutch Railways unlimited off-peak subscription | 5 | 5 | 50% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 102 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I just used a physical Suica card, I'd link tickets to it at the time of purchase, and had no issue with using it.”
“once I understood that I should link my HSR tickets to my Suica card, my travels through it became very simple”
“There's a large department store near my home where I can pay with Suica on some floors but not on others.”
“Takes 30 seconds in Apple Wallet to issue a new card and put an initial load on it.”
“Your criticisms of FeliCa/IC/SUICA are fair, but maybe one can view the system more charitably with context.”
“Sometimes it wouldn't even activate until I tapped it again, other times there was a delay.”
“many locals just use Suica/Pasmo because it's the much _faster_”
“putting money on the card is a problem if you don't have a credit/debit card issued by a Japanese bank”
“designed in a way that makes it impossible for the card owner to hack in and modify the balance”
“expires and is completely dead after 30 days, even if it has a balance”
“it works fine when the battery runs out; but it does _not_ work during the OS update process.”
“It's great because you can also ask any questions you have about usage at the same time.”
“Suica is very convenient because it makes entering station gates very smooth.”
“The combination of its speed and universal acceptance across Japan makes this by far the best system anywhere.”
“iPhone version was super easy and worked flawlessly for me”
“the entire transaction processed in under 200 milliseconds”
“you almost everywhere need to charge it with only cash”
“you can get it only in some kind of machines, and you need to pay it cash”
“On iPhone it’s insanely easy to you just request right from the wallet app and you can even reload it there.”
“It's sooooo convenient to buy Shinkansen tickets digitally too with it all linked.”
“just download the Suica app and top it up with Apple pay”
“being able to just tap my phone's uploaded IC card/alipay without having to open it up or switch cards”
“Took me roughly a minute to create one within Apple Wallet ahead of my trip”
“SUICA makes those easy, unless you need a recharge to top it up.”
“it's really quite fast compared to more general balance card services”
“I bought one from a machine easily at a train station.”
“you should probably just get a suica in your apple or google wallet”
“It's amazing that these cards are almost solving the problem of secure digital money.”
“other than the speed and convenience, I was amazed that I could use my same Suica card”
“you can walk through the subway turnstile and not slow down”
“Easy to top up at the plentiful, dedicated top up machines.”
“it's like magically fast. Faster than NFC, faster than Apple Pay”
“Cards are fun, collectable, and never run out of battery.”
“The cards have no battery and aren’t self-powered in any way.”
“the same Suica/Pasmo cards work everywhere and handle transfers seamlessly”
“the system wouldn't accept any of the credit cards or her debit card that she had registered with Apple Pay”
“A visitor Suica card (that you can buy at the airport and refill with cash in seconds), a VISA, and cash”
“wasn't allowed to use the mobile Suica app, even though the hardware supports it”
“The Suica app doesn't even work on my Pixel 10 Pro, since it requires an Android phone with some sort of Japan-specific hardware”
“I've also had issues topping up my (virtual) Suica card late at night before.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.