Another magstripe bites the dust.
a better first step would be allowing cashless purchase of a ticket
Japan has been doing cashless forever. Most local/regional transport operators use IC cards. The tech is Sony’s FeliCa and the major ones are compatible nationwide. It’s also built into modern smartphones, although it’s only generally available on phones sold in Japan except for iPhone, where all models worldwide support it. If you’re on iPhone, even as a tourist you can just create a virtual card in Apple’s Wallet app and charge through Apple’s payment service.
JR East’s card is called Suica and exists since 2001. It covers basically anything in the Greater Tokyo area where they operate, not only their own stuff (trains, metro, subway, trams, the airport monorail, buses, some ferries, …), and can be used for payment at many shops, vending machines, restaurants, and even some parks and such. Billing for transport is generally simply by shortest distance. E.g. riding the Yamanote ring line one stop in one direction costs the same as going all the way around the ring in the other direction.
Shinkansen (bullet trains) don’t use the cards for payment, but you can link online ticket purchases to them and then you buy cashless online and only tap in and out for the Shinkansen too.
Recently some train operators have started supporting credit cards too, so for some trains you can just tap a credit card at the ticket gates.
Last time I was there a few years back I couldn’t top up through my Apple linked Visa. Not sure if they’ve fixed that since, I had to go Revolut virtual Mastercard to Suica top up - but it is a very convenient system otherwise
That is possible and has been possible for some time.
jr local lines kiosks, even in tokyo station, all operate on cash and cash only. yes, commuter cards exist, but if you purchase a magnetic ticket like those referenced in the article you are paying in cash
I see. My bad. That is inconvenient indeed. My guess is that they want to promote paperless alternatives (commuter cards, digital commuter cards, credit cards where usable). More and more stations allow you to use your credit card as a commuter card, so you would neither need an IC card nor a paper ticket. They upgraded the gate where I lived in 2024. Give it a few years.
https://smakko-cashless.com/touch-payment-ride/
It would be nice to be able to buy paper tickets cashless, as well, though.
Yeah, we have NFC type cards for Vancouver Skytrain. You prefill it and tap in and tap out, the system figures out what you owe based on zones travelled. You can set auto fill at a low balance if you want it more automatic.
Also works for the Bus system and Sea Taxi.
That is exactly how it works in Japan.
So why are they saying they are replacing magnetic tickets with QR codes? Due you just mean the credit debit systems and not the card itself?
The current magnetic paper tickets are replaced with paper tickets with QR codes on them. Not digital QR codes on your phone. The article is misrepresenting that with the photo showing a QR code on a phone. That’s not what this is about.
You can pay your fare using an IC card that can be charged using cash or via your Japanese bank/credit card. You can also pay with your credit card directly, though I imagine not everywhere, as I’ve seen extra terminals installed for that.
Phone tickets (えきねっと) have also existed for some time. Only shinkansen and the likes, though.
This change has nothing to do with IC cards or existing phone ticket systems. Paper tickets become different paper tickets.
https://www.travelers-lifehack.com/qr-train-ticket-magnetic-replacement/
Seriously. Since like the year 2000.
