About Suica.
 

Hi guys, thanks to you guys' new and past threads I'm doing well on my Japan trip planning.

I'm thinking of getting a Suica card so to make life more convinient and stuff. And I'm aware that I can get them right at Narita Airport or most stations.

But one thing is, I've checked on the stations that allows the use of Suica. Some web says not all stations in Tokyo while some say all accepts Suica.

My hostel is in Tawaramachi, and I plan to travel from Narita T2 to Keisei-Ueno thru their JR Keisei Honsen. I'll mostly be around Tawaramachi <-> Shibuya area. The furthest I'll go is Shin-Yokohama.

So my question is (sorry I'm naggy XD) is the Suica card usable in ALL stations in Tokyo and surrounding areas aka Yokohama even the private lines like Keisei Honsen which I'll be taking or only selected? Or maybe just the JR lines etc?

There's a map at the end of this guide by JR East:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/s_users_guide.pdf
am I correct to say that it shows ALL the stations that accepts Suica?

After 2 days of research I found my own answer!

JR

^ The map provided by JR East.

Basically it's all the stations. Now I know why some people say Suica is accepted in all stations in Tokyo and surrounding areas. =D

You can also use the Suica pass on many buses, even those in somewhat out of the way places.

How long are you planning to stay in Japan? If your stay is 3 weeks to one month, you should just get a JR railpass. It is good for 30 days and allows unlimited use of all JR trains as well as the Shinkansen.

It's an excellent deal if you want to see all of Japan. The cost is about $300, but if you consider that a reserved seat on the Shinkansen going from Tokyo to Osaka and back runs about $360, you get the idea,

Nope it's just a short stay, less than a week actually. My friend and I just wanna get one as a souvenir for ourselves. XD

Plus in our country we're too used to using these smartcards for transports so we wanna get one, convinient~ =D

I'm not sure you can get a Suica pass without a residency card. My GF got one for me 3 years ago because I was visiting as a tourist and couldn't get my own. I'm still using it.

But it's possible that I'm mistaken, or that the rules have changed.

My friends from Sweden visited Japan last month and got their's. The unregistered ones from the vending machines. Just slot in 2000 yen and the card pops out. YouTube even has a video about it. XD

What is a Suica card? I'm planning to go to Japan as well in a year, and this is something I've never heard about before.

Man, if there's one thing I have yet to research, it's the rail system over there...

Is the suica card actually cheap enough for a one week use.. ?

I thought suica was like a credit card so getting one without some sort of permanent residency would be pretty hard, right?

Suica is kinda like touch and go card.. nothing special with it, since it is pretty convinient people like me like to have it.. if you just staying about a week or so in Japan, then it is up to you to buy it or not coz the deposit is quite high 500 yen if I'm not mistaken..

You can buy a Suica card at Narita airport if you are coming into Tokyo from there. You will get a special deal - it's called NEx - this means you can use thge Narita Express train from the airport into Tokyo and then continue to use the Suica as you travel round using the trains or buses. All you do is swipe the card as you enter and leave the ticket gates at each station and it deducts the amount of money your journey costs.

You can 'charge' your card with as much money as you like and then add to it when you need to using the ticket machines in the stations. Each ticket machine has a button on the top right that lets you choose English as your language and then it's easy from there.

You can also use the suica card in some convenience shops to pay for goods. It is not a credit card though - you must have the funds on the card to pay for the items.

Regarding the 500 yen deposit. If you hand the card in at a JR office when you leave Japan - you can do this at Narita airport again if you are leaving that way - they return the deposit to you.