Guide

eSIM, Suica and cash: the logistics of the first week

Three questions every traveller asks in the week before the flight, and three answers that changed in the last two years: Suica moved into the phone, the credit card got into the ticket gates, and Japan still has not given up cash. Here is what to do, in the right order.

Data on your phone: eSIM

An eSIM is a SIM card you download as a QR code instead of inserting plastic. You install it at home on wifi, and it sits in the phone next to your home SIM. On landing you switch it on, and within a minute Google Maps and the translator work. Almost every phone sold from 2019 on supports it; check the mobile settings for an "Add eSIM" option.

• How much data you need

  Maps, translation, messages and a few videos a day come to 0.5 to 1 GB a day. For two weeks: 10 to 20 GB per person, or an unlimited plan if you upload a lot of video.

• Your home SIM stays

  Keep it active for calls and SMS (bank verification codes arrive there), and turn off its "mobile data" so the phone does not roam through it.

• Phone number

  A tourist eSIM usually has no Japanese number. WhatsApp keeps working with your home number. If you need to call restaurants, calls go through the home SIM at roaming rates, or through WhatsApp, where many businesses in Japan are not.

• The alternatives

  A roaming package from your home carrier: the simplest, usually the most expensive per day, and worth checking what exactly it includes. A physical SIM at the Japanese airport: works, but in a queue after a 12-hour flight. A pocket wifi router: only for a family with several old devices, because you have to charge it and carry it.

What it costs, as an example

Yesim's price list for Japan on 21 October 2026, in euros, for a plan valid 30 days from activation. Other providers (Airalo, Holafly, Ubigi) sit in the same range, and the real difference is the Japanese network they ride on and the support when something does not work.

You can order directly from Yesim. This is an affiliate link: if you order through it we earn a commission, and your price does not change.

Suica: the card that opens everything

Suica is a rechargeable card you tap at the gate on trains, subways and buses, and at the till in the konbini, at vending machines and at most lockers. You load it with yen and it takes the exact fare on every ride without you calculating anything. It has siblings (PASMO in Tokyo, ICOCA in Kansai), and all of them have worked nationwide since 2013. The maximum balance is ¥20,000. How you get one depends on your phone.

• iPhone: Welcome Suica Mobile

  JR East's app for tourists, from iOS 17.2. You issue a card inside Apple Wallet, with no deposit and no counter, and it is valid for 180 days. You top up from your credit card through Apple Pay, and since 2026 you can also reserve a seat on JR East shinkansen inside the app. Do it at home, on wifi, before the flight. It does not work on Android, not even an Android bought in Japan.

• A foreign credit card for top-ups

  Mastercard and American Express almost always go through. Visa is declined by some issuers, even after Apple opened it up in iOS 17.2. If you only have a Visa: load a large amount at home and check that it went through. If not, add a regular Suica (not Welcome) in Wallet, which can also be topped up with cash at station machines.

• Android: a physical card

  An Android phone not bought in Japan has no Suica in its wallet, and according to JR East Samsung joins only in 2027. Buy a physical Welcome Suica at the JR East counters at Narita, Haneda and the big stations: no deposit, valid 28 days, and the remaining balance is not refunded. Or a regular Suica (back on sale since 2025) with a ¥500 deposit you get back at a JR East counter before the flight home. Top up with cash at any ticket machine.

• Children

  A child up to age 11 gets a children's card at half fare, issued only at a counter with a passport. The app has no children's version.

Or simply a credit card at the gate

Since 25 March 2026 you can tap a credit card with the contactless symbol, or your phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay, at the gate, with no Suica and no top-up in advance. 11 railways in Tokyo joined it into one network of 729 stations, and in Osaka it has worked since 2025. The ¥70 discount for transferring between Tokyo Metro and Toei is kept. Tap the same card in and out, and every passenger needs a card of their own.

Cash: how much, and where to withdraw

Japan reached 58 percent digital payments in 2025, according to the Japanese Ministry of Economy. That means four out of ten payments are still cash, and exactly in the places tourists like. Our rule: ¥20,000 to ¥30,000 per person in hand ($127 to $190), and withdraw again when you drop below ¥5,000.

Where you still pay cash

• Temples and shrines

  The donation box, the goshuin visit stamp (usually ¥300 to ¥500), amulets and omikuji. At most small temples the entry fee itself is cash too.

• Ticket machines in ramen shops

  You buy a ticket from the machine by the door. Some of the older machines take only ¥1,000 notes and coins.

• Markets and street stalls

  Nishiki in Kyoto, Kuromon in Osaka, the outer market at Tsukiji. Some stalls take IC, most take cash.

• Buses outside the big cities

  In Kyoto and Tokyo Suica works. In villages, onsen towns and on some Alps routes you pay in coins next to the driver.

• Izakaya and family restaurants

  The smaller and older the place, the likelier it is cash only. A sign at the door, or one question on the way in, saves embarrassment at the end.

• Old lockers and vending machines

  The new ones take IC, the old ones take ¥100 coins.

The ATMs that take a foreign card

• What your own card issuer adds

  A currency conversion fee on every withdrawal and every purchase, under your card's terms, and usually a fixed fee for cash withdrawals abroad as well. Hence a few large withdrawals rather than many small ones. A Wise or Revolut card pays less, but it is not a must.

• At the ATM

  Choose English, and choose "charge in local currency" (JPY) if the machine offers a conversion. The machine's conversion is more expensive than your bank's, always.

• Coins

  A ¥500 coin is about $3, and they pile up. A small coin purse is the most useful thing you can buy on day one at Daiso.

• No tipping

  Not at the restaurant, not in the taxi, not at the hotel. You pay at the till rather than handing money to the waiter, and you put the money on the small tray next to the till.

The first hour after landing, in order

1. 1. In the terminal, before immigration

   Switch the eSIM on and turn off data for the home SIM. If the phone does not connect, toggle flight mode off and on.

2. 2. After customs

   A Seven Bank ATM, which every terminal at Narita, Haneda and Kansai has. One withdrawal of ¥30,000.

3. 3. Android only

   The JR East counter (Narita, Haneda) or JR West (Kansai): Welcome Suica or ICOCA. On an iPhone the card is already in the wallet from home.

4. 4. To the train

   Tap the phone or the card at the gate. If it is a JR train, the credit card will not work at the gate, so Suica.

The five mistakes we see most

1. Changing money at your home airport

   The rate at airport exchange counters is a few percent worse than an ATM in Japan. If you want yen in hand the moment you land, a small amount is enough, and you withdraw the rest at the 7-Eleven ATM in the Japanese airport.

2. Withdrawing small amounts many times

   Every withdrawal costs an ATM fee plus your own card issuer's fee. One withdrawal of ¥30,000 to ¥50,000 is cheaper than three of ¥10,000.

3. Activating the eSIM at home

   Install at home, activate on landing. With some providers the plan's clock starts the moment the phone first connects to a network.

4. Leaving home roaming switched on

   If your home SIM stays active for data, the phone may use it without asking. Keep it for calls and SMS only, and turn its mobile data off.

5. Leaving the gate with a different card from the one you entered with

   When paying with a credit card at the gate, the same physical card or the same phone has to touch in and touch out. Couples do not share a card.

What next

• How much a trip to Japan costs

  The full budget, including what the JR Pass is really worth.

• Shopping and tax-free

  What changes on 1 November 2026, and why the passport has to be on you when you buy.

• Day itineraries

  Every day says which line, from which station, and what the ride costs.

Sources

• Welcome Suica Mobile, JR East
• Welcome Suica (the physical card), JR East
• IC cards for tourists, Japan Guide (updated 27 Jul 2026)
• Credit card tap payment at the gate, Japan Guide (updated 3 Sep 2026)
• Announcement by the 11 Kanto railways, 24 Mar 2026
• ATMs for overseas cards, Seven Bank
• ATMs for overseas cards, Japan Post Bank
• Yesim, plans for Japan

Checked on 21 October 2026. Dollar amounts at 157.82 yen to the dollar. eSIM prices and the list of railways that take a card at the gate change every few months, which is why the date here matters.