It’s been a long time since the complete cessation of the physical sale of Suica and PASMO cards in August 2023. Travelers have since switched to using the red Welcome Suica, or opting for buying a Suica card on their phones, which is MOBILE Suica. However, recently, there has been widespread attention regarding news of the reissuance of Suica cards, and rumors suggest that this popular transportation card will make a limited revival sale in Tokyo.

Is this news true? Where in Tokyo can you purchase the much-anticipated physical Suica card? Let’s unravel this mysterious story together.

Suica and PASMO physical cards: discontinued in the summer of 2023

On June 2, 2023, JR East announced that due to a global shortage of semiconductors, the Japanese transportation cards “Suica” and “PASMO” couldn’t obtain enough IC chips. As a result, JR East decided to suspend the sale of anonymous “Suica” and “PASMO” cards from June 8, 2023 (Thursday).

Starting from August 2, 2023, named Suica and named Pasmo cards would also cease sales, with no specified resumption date.

As a response, JR East recommended travelers to use the Welcome Suica (red watermelon card) designed especially for tourists or switch to the mobile version, MOBILE Suica.

However, both Welcome Suica and MOBILE Suica have various limitations. Firstly, Welcome Suica is valid for only one month and cannot be extended, refunded, or returned. Moreover, starting from December, due to further shortages of IC chips, the availability of Welcome Suica has been reduced, and it can only be purchased at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 (formerly the international terminal). While MOBILE Suica doesn’t require a physical card, due to NFC limitations, Android phones sold outside Japan cannot download and install MOBILE Suica.

If possible, many people still wish to opt for buying a Suica card, the regular green one that was available for continuous use.

Limited Reissue of Suica Cards? Where Can You Buy Them?

In December, on JR East’s non-Japanese language webpage, the following information was suddenly released:

If you wish to purchase an IC card after December 11th, please purchase Suica at JR EAST Travel Service Center Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, or Ueno.
* Sales at JR EAST Travel Service Center Tokyo will start from December 13th.
In principle, only one Welcome Suica and Suica will be sold per person.
Welcome Suica and Suica may be sold out.
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

Is it possible to re-purchase the original regular Suica card? We visited the JR East Travel Service Center at Tokyo Station and inquired with the staff there, and received the following response:

As of January 12, 2024, foreign tourists can purchase the physical Suica card (the green one that updates its expiration date with each use) from the JR East Japan Travel Service Centers(「駅たびコンシェルジュ」) at the following stations.

If you are planning to travel to Japan and need to purchase a transportation IC card to make your journey more convenient, be sure not to miss the limited edition revived Suica card.

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