What you need to know – Mate, we’re lost!

IC cards

Online search for IC cards will give you 3 options – Suica, Pasimo & ICOCA. The reality is, there are several IC cards you can use in Japan. Their availability depends on the region you are in, but they all work interchangeably.

The three ones mentioned above are the most popular ones as they can be used with Apple Pay and topped up with a card on your phone. There’s no need for finding machines and topping up with cash (and only cash).

If you are an Android user, you are out of luck. The IC cards don’t work on Android phones bought outside of Japan and if you want to use one, you will have to buy a physical card once you land. For example, we landed in Fukuoka and got Sugoca cards.

IC cards can be purchased at ticket machines and ticket counters of the issuing railway companies. The initial cost is 2000 yen of which 500 is a refundable deposit. The rest is added on the card to use.

You can return the card before you leave and get the deposit back + any money left on it. The admin fee for this is 220 yen. Or you can just keep it, the cards are valid for 10 years. If you want to return it, it can only be done at the stations that issue the cards – our Sugoca cards couldn’t be returned in Tokyo, but only on the Kyushu island.

Do you need an IC card to use the public transport? No, you can buy paper tickets as you go, but just tapping the IC card could save you time instead of buying individual tickets each time you want to travel. Many travellers get them as they can also be used at vending machines and konbinis (convenience stores like 7/11 and Family Mart). This is why Suica is very popular, it cuts out the need to carry as much cash with you as you can top up the card from your phone.

IC cards are also valid on almost all the trains. With some trains, like limited express ones or Nozomi (the fastest bullet train), you can only buy a base ticket with the IC card. This means you will have to buy an add-on ticket to be able to ride the train.

trains and JR Pass

A very common, but no longer valid, advice that is still circulated on social media and passed down by other travellers who visited Japan a few years ago is that buying a JR Pass will save you money. This is no longer the case. The cost of the JR Pass has gone up in the past year and you’ll most likely end up spending more money by buying a pass than by buying individual tickets. Unless you are doing some long distances in a short period of time.

Before deciding on buying the pass, use this fare calculator to see if you would actually save any money. I added all of our trips and we would’ve saved only 1000 yen (about £5) if we bought a 7 days pass. We had gone from Fukuoka all the way to Tokyo, then to Kyoto, Hiroshima and back to Fukuoka. For all the traveling we needed 14 days, not 7 so the pass would cost us over 30 000 yen (£153) more per person! That is not a small sum.

The famous Japanese bullet train (shinkansen) is one of the best ways to travel around the country. It is comfortable, it is fast, and it runs every few minutes. It will cover about 500 km in less than 3 hours.

You can buy tickets online and print the QR code or connect the ticket to your IC card (if you have one). You can connect it to your IC card on the page where you bought the tickets, just follow the steps, it is pretty straightforward. Alternatively, you can buy the tickets at the station. There is no difference in the price.

*Budget tip – children under 6 are classified as infants and ride the trains for free if they sit on your lap. They also ride for free on public transport.

Buses

We have used at least one bus in every city we visited and not every city has the same fare system. It isn’t too hard to figure out, just look at what the locals are doing.

In Kyoto, there is one fare, no matter how far you go so you just tap when you get on the bus.

In Hiroshima, you don’t have to tap when you get on the bus. The machine reacts to people when they pass and gives out a ticket. You take the ticket and give it to the driver on the way out and tap out. If you don’t have the IC card, that is when you pay the fare.

In Fukuoka, the fare depends on the number of stops, so you tap when you get on and again when you get off.

*Remember! Japan drives on the left side of the road. You enter the bus through the second door and leave through the first (by the driver).

Taxi

With such an efficient public transport, you most likely won’t need a taxi, but it could still come in handy if you need to quickly get somewhere or you have a lot of things you don’t want to carry on the metro. Or if you don’t have children and end up partying until 3 am. We took the taxi twice, both times from the airport and both taxis were an extra I got when I booked the hotel.

From the information I gathered online, taxis are not too expensive so you should definitely keep it as a backup. A very popular app for getting a taxi in Japan is GoTaxi. I installed it but never used it as I couldn’t find a way of changing the setting to get a taxi for 3 people, not just 1. Bigger cities have Uber as well.

I also have to mention, I was not ready for our first taxi ride. The driver wore white gloves and the interior of the car was so pristine clean with Japanese lace crochet on all the seats. It looked beautiful and very high end. The driver opened the doors for us so we didn’t have to touch the “filthy” exterior of the car, even though the car was whistle clean. All in all, a great experience. Note, this was a prebooked ride, I have not tried other taxis to compare the experience.

Tokyo subway pass

There is not much online about the Tokyo subway pass unless you specifically look for it. I only came across it on Reddit when we were already in Japan. It is aimed specifically at tourists and you will have to show your passport when you buy it.

The pass provides unlimited access on the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines. You can buy a 24, 48, or 72 hour pass (cost is 800, 1200, and 1500 yen respectively). The pass timer starts as soon as you tap in for the first ride.

Please note, there is more than one transport company operating in Tokyo, The subway pass is NOT valid on JR Trains or the Yamanote line for example, but it will get you to the majority or tourist places. Before deciding on the pass, see what lines surround your hotel. You only need to travel on the metro 3 times a day for it to pay off. You can buy the pass at several metro station (click here for more information) or even BIC camera stores (we got ours in one).