How to Pay in Japan — Apps, Cards and Cash

Japan is a country where you can pay for the metro with a watch, then walk twenty metres and find that the tea house takes banknotes only. That gap confuses almost every visitor, and it is why payment is worth sorting out before you fly rather than in the queue at the till.

This guide covers the mechanics of paying — what works, where, and how to set it up. For daily budgets, exchange rates and what a trip costs, see the money guide.

The short answer

Install Suica in your iPhone Wallet before you fly, carry one Mastercard or Amex alongside your Visa, and withdraw ¥20,000 at a 7-Eleven ATM when you land. Those three cover almost every situation in Japan.

Suica on your phone — do this first

Suica is a stored-value card used for both trains and small purchases. The digital version installs straight onto an iPhone: Wallet → Add card → Transit card → Japan → Suica. No Japanese region setting and no Japanese app required.

The one failure point: topping up needs a credit card that Apple Pay accepts, and a lot of foreign Visa cards are refused at exactly that step. Mastercard and American Express generally go through. If the top-up fails, you can load the card with cash at any station machine.

Android is a different story: Suica requires a FeliCa chip, which is present almost exclusively on handsets sold in Japan. A phone bought abroad cannot add it — take a physical card instead.

Suica cards for visitors

The physical card — and what Welcome Suica is

If you do not have an iPhone, buy a card at a station. There is a version made for visitors — Welcome Suica — with no deposit and 28 days of validity, sold at the airports and major stations.

Worth knowing: sales of standard Suica and Pasmo cards have been suspended at times in recent years because of a chip shortage. The visitor version stayed available throughout. Full detail in the Suica and Pasmo guide.

PayPay and the QR apps — why they are not for you

Every shop in Japan displays signs for PayPay, LINE Pay and Rakuten Pay. These QR apps are hugely popular — among residents. Registration requires a Japanese phone number, and often a Japanese bank account too.

This is where a lot of visitors waste time: there is nothing to install and nothing to arrange. A tourist pays with Suica, a card, or cash.

Where credit cards work — and where they do not

Visa and Mastercard are accepted at most hotels, chains, department stores and larger restaurants in cities. JCB is accepted everywhere in Japan. American Express is less common but works at chains.

Not accepted: small restaurants, food stalls, temple and garden ticket windows, traditional markets, and a good share of businesses outside the major cities. Rural buses often take cash only as well.

Check your card’s foreign transaction fee before you travel. Three per cent across a whole trip is a noticeable sum.

Contactless and smartwatches

Contactless payment is expanding in the big cities, but it is not yet the standard. Apple Pay works well at convenience stores and chains — especially with a loaded Suica, which is in practice the smoothest way a visitor can pay anywhere in Japan.

With Suica on a smartwatch you can pass a train gate and pay at a till without taking your phone out at all. It is a small thing that improves the day more than it sounds.

Note that installing Suica and topping it up on the move both need a data connection — arrange an eSIM plan for Japan before you fly.

Cash withdrawals — which ATMs take foreign cards

Not every Japanese ATM will accept your card. Three reliably do:

7-Eleven (Seven Bank) — in every store, 24/7, English interface. Japan Post Bank — in every post office. Family Mart (E-net) — less widespread but functional.

Local bank ATMs will usually reject a foreign card. Withdraw larger amounts less often to reduce fixed withdrawal fees.

Tax-free at the register — 10% back

Visitors are exempt from the 10% consumption tax on purchases over ¥5,000 (≈ $33) at shops displaying a Tax-Free sign. Show your passport at the till and the tax comes off on the spot — no forms and no airport queue.

Keep the goods sealed until you leave the country. It is worth most on electronics, cosmetics and souvenirs. Note that this scheme is undergoing regulatory change — check the current procedure close to your travel date.

Three common payment mistakes

Arriving with no cash. The airport ATM is the first stop, not an optional one.

Relying on Visa alone. If your Suica top-up is refused and you have no alternative card, you will be standing in a station queue.

Hunting for “the Japanese app”. There isn’t one for visitors. Suica, a card and cash is the whole story.

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From here: read the money and budget guide for trip costs, the Suica and Pasmo guide for the card in full, or the eSIM guide — because without data, some of these methods will not work.