http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2011/01/06/getting-the-most-out-of-japanese-trains-suica-card/ My life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile. Sat, 11 Jun 2011 01:53:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2011/01/06/getting-the-most-out-of-japanese-trains-suica-card/#comment-5178 Doug M Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:17:05 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=10112#comment-5178 Hi John! Expert tips are always appreciated, thanks for chiming in! As for me, I still have quite a bit left over from this last trip (enough for another 1-2 week trips ;) ), but I intend to keep it since I plan on being back during the summer at the earliest, or within a year at the latest. Hi John! Expert tips are always appreciated, thanks for chiming in! As for me, I still have quite a bit left over from this last trip (enough for another 1-2 week trips ), but I intend to keep it since I plan on being back during the summer at the earliest, or within a year at the latest.

]]> http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2011/01/06/getting-the-most-out-of-japanese-trains-suica-card/#comment-5173 johnl Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:35:49 +0000 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/?p=10112#comment-5173 yes, I agree that the Suica and similar cards are great! I think the ¥500 you mentioned is a deposit--you should get it back if you decide you don't want the card any more. However, I think they deduct ¥140 --maybe that is the material cost of the card. You can get a refund of the unused amount loaded into the card. Once after several years of use, the laminations on my Suica card started to separate, causing problems with the machines. So, I made a new card--they took the unused amount and transferred it to a new card, after deducting the ¥140 charge. If someone's Japanese ability and arm-waving are not enough to do the transaction, the friendly JR people will try to 'track' ( ;) ) down some English-speaking assistance. yes, I agree that the Suica and similar cards are great! I
think the ¥500 you mentioned is a deposit–you should get it back
if you decide you don’t want the card any more. However, I think
they deduct ¥140 –maybe that is the material cost of the card. You
can get a refund of the unused amount loaded into the card. Once
after several years of use, the laminations on my Suica card
started to separate, causing problems with the machines. So, I made
a new card–they took the unused amount and transferred it to a new
card, after deducting the ¥140 charge. If someone’s Japanese
ability and arm-waving are not enough to do the transaction, the
friendly JR people will try to ‘track’ ( ) down some
English-speaking assistance.

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