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> fast What are y'all comparing it with? I’ve tried to find videos online but they all seem… normal?
But it's really quite fast compared to more general balance card services like NFC/tap to pay, etc.
If you haven’t experienced suica, it’s like magically fast. Faster than NFC, faster than Apple Pay, faster than tap to pay, faster than Disney magic bands, faster than your work badge. It absolutely floored me every time I used it in Japan and it’s a full payment transaction.
The card might be fast but getting one as a tourist is kind of a hassle
Anyway it was a great read! Glad to see somebody writing without (obvious) use of LLMs.
Huge shout out that if you are going to be in Japan, you need one of these cards. I had thought I could just buy a two day pass in Tokyo. Which, you can, but you are almost certainly going to be limited to what routes and lines you can use, then. Which is brutal when you can't tell google maps which card you have.
What happened to buying a single ticket at the station, when you need one? That's what I did when I was in Tokyo, but it was a long time ago
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But you should probably just get a suica in your apple or google wallet, you don’t actually need an IC card. I’m not sure if using a phone makes it less fast though, I couldn’t tell (we had to get a card for my kid since he doesn’t have a phone). Definitely better than the QR codes used by China.
You can use a digital Suica in Google Wallet only if your Android phone has Japan-spec hardware . International Android phones bought outside Japan generally cannot support digital Suica cards in Google Wallet.
I'm getting off-topic here, but I really appreciate it when people get this date right.
I love it when little everyday things bring a tiny bit of happiness and color into daily life. (for more info: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_003.html)
How is it different from the Oyster card in London?
Imagine if you could pay with the Oyster card everywhere from Tesco to Greggs to National Rail to Uber
Actually you can find some small family shops, restaurants etc where they don't accept credit cards but Suica only
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Same deal with Opal in Sydney - the old school opal card processes a second or so faster than a card/apple pay/google pay that you can just keep walking. Smashed into the barrier the one time I forgot my card.
I’ve never noticed any delay on the London underground with Apple Pay or a normally debit card - certainly not a second. Havent used an oyster for years but I don’t remember it being faster.
During my last visit to London (in 2025), it felt noticeably slower than even NYC subway tap-to-pay.
Suica is a whole other beast that isn't even in the same category of speed. It genuinely feels sub-200ms instantaneous.