Getting Around in Tokyo... Suica & Passnet Cards
 

Hello! Has anyone used either the Suica or the Passnet cards in Tokyo?

I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense to get these. We arrive in Tokyo in the late afternoon on a Saturday and depart for Hakone Wednesday. Is it worth it?

I like the idea of not having to buy tickets each and every time we ride the subway or metro, but not if getting the card (and returning it) is more of a hassle.

Thanks!!

I started using the Suica card 3 trips ago, and I absolutely love it. I can't imagine not using it.

<b>Taking a subway ride without a Suica card</b>:
1. Find a ticket vending machine
2. Switch the language from Japanese to English
3. Squint and try to find the station that you want to go to on the map, and find the corresponding fare
4. Dig around in your pockets for coins or bills
5. Put the coins/bills in the machine and remember which button to press next
6. Take ticket and change
7. Insert ticket in station entrance wicket, and hold on to ticket. Be sure not to mix up your current ticket with the other used ones that are in your pocket.
8. At the end of the trip, put the current ticket in the exit wicket

<b>Taking a subway ride with a Suica card</b>:
1. Tap the suica card on the entrance wicket at the start of the trip.
2. Tap the suica card on the exit wicket at the end of the trip.

At the end of my stay, it takes 30 seconds to return the Suica card for a refund of the unused portion.

I also have a Suica card and now wouldn't be without it when in the subways of Tokyo and soon to be all over Japan.

rizzuto so eloquently said it all above that I had to put my penny in here to bookmark for others when they ask.

Aloha!

I think I read that that the Suica & N'Ex together is 3,500 Yen, while the N'Ex alone is 3,100 Yen. For only 400 Yen more, we'd get 1,500 Yen worth of train fares. Sounds like a too good to be true deal?

While we are staying in Shinjuku, we'll definitely be using the trains a lot to get around Tokyo. How much are the typical fares to get between places, say from Shinjuku to Ueno, or to the Imperial Palace? And does the Suica card work on all the different trains, metros, subways, etc in Tokyo? I guess I'm trying to estimate out how much a normal visitor would spend in roughly 4 days.

Thanks!

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/suica-nex/

Above website has all the info - plus the card is good for ten years so if you plan a return trip, you can just hold on to it. I have one from my last trip and will buy another when I land at NRT.....
Tokyo Station to Ueno is ¥150 on the JR Yamanote line......

PASSNET cards do not exists anymore on 99.9 percent of the trains, they were phased out in. They were replaced by PASMO cards. Pasmo cards and Suica cards, despite their names work exactly the same in Tokyo.

http://www.tokyosubway.info/ticket.html

To ad, Suica is sold by JR and Pasmo (passnet is gone) is sold by everyone else.

Again as I mentioned, for the Tokyo area, both cards work exactly the same. Suica works on Pasmo and Pasmo works on Suica, essentially every train is covered with either card.

Check the online time tables I have linked, also check out depending on how much travel you are doing, maybe a day pass for a day might work, again it depends on your plans for one day for a pass to make sense or not vs. suica or pasmo.
http://www.tokyosubway.info/railpass.html

This information is so helpful, thanks!

Are there any specific lines in Tokyo that the Suica cannot be used on?

knemo, Suica/Pasmo is accepted on all railway lines in Tokyo.