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A trusty, rechargeable IC card for trains and even shopping!
ICOCA, is the easy-to-use transportation IC card by JR West. You’ll know it when you see it by the mascot character, Iko-chan the platypus, marking the card that makes it easy to get around via train and settle up at stores that accept e-money payments.
Recharge your ICOCA along your travels with preloaded funds up to 20,000 yen at once at any train station ticket machine before getting up to tap and go. Just like the reciprocal Suica IC card (by JR East) and PiTaPa (Kansai private railways), you can use ICOCA nationwide during your travels.
Grab your ICOCA and enjoy e-money payments at over 1.85 million partner stores nationwide, including convenience stores, restaurants, and station kiosks for travels that are made easy with the use of a single card.
Once you’re done you can even return your card and refund the remaining balance plus 500yen starting fee, minus a small handling charge. For registered cards like Kodomo ICOCA, reissuance is possible in case of loss (fee applies).
Versatile card that you can use in regional train networks across Japan and for e-money payments.
Frequently Asked Questions have been vetted and answered directly by each listing.
Q
Do you have pamphlets in other languages? (If so, please also inform us of the supported languages)
Sorry, we don’t.
Q
Do I need to make a reservation to purchase.
No reservation is required for purchase.
Q
Is it possible to recharge the card with a credit card?
Generally, recharging with non-cash methods is not available, except for:
SMART ICOCA's quick charge
Mobile ICOCA / Apple Pay versions of ICOCA.
Some reviews are AI-translated.
Super convenient—even works at hair salons!
The current limit is still 20,000, but I personally prefer loading up the green Suica card first. I call this one the penguin card!
I usually add money when the exchange rate is good. Some stores don’t accept it, but most do. As long as you tell the staff “cardo,” they’ll understand!
Ahhh, I really want to go to Japan!
Just keep in mind that it does expire. I have four cards, and every time I go, I have to make sure to use each one so I don’t forget!
But it only expires once every 10 years. My aunt’s family let theirs sit for 9 years, and the station staff actually laughed about it... haha
Seriously, who can stand not going to Japan for that long?
Also, these are virtual cards now—you can use them on your phone, and you can add them to your watch too!
If you link it to Apple Pay, you can reload it directly with a credit card, which is super convenient. I hope EasyCard can be added to Apple Pay too.
