Photo by Pema G. Lama (https://unsplash.com/@peemaglama) on Unsplash
A Practical Guide to Tokyo's IC Cards (Suica and Pasmo)
Last updated August 26, 2026
One small plastic card, tapped twice, replaces almost every ticket machine, fare chart, and exact-change scramble a Tokyo trip would otherwise involve. Getting one on day one changes the entire texture of moving through the city.
The rest of this story is for members.
Sign up free to read the full post, save it, and share it.
Sign up to keep readingEnjoyed this? Get the next one.
New spots, stories, and city guides in your inbox a few times a month.
More stories like this
Renting a Kimono in Kyoto: What to Know Before You Book
For one afternoon, thousands of visitors trade sneakers for geta and become part of the scenery on Kyoto's stone lanes. It photographs beautifully. It also involves more logistics, and more etiquette, than the rental shop windows let on.
Sign up to read the full story
A Practical Guide to Visiting Kyoto's Temples Respectfully
A torii gate and a temple roof can look interchangeable in a tourist photo, but the rituals behind them come from two different religions, and getting them backward is the single most common mistake visitors make.
Sign up to read the full story
How to Get Around Kyoto by Bus (and When to Skip It)
Tokyo hides its transit logic underground in a sprawling subway map. Kyoto keeps most of its low-rise, temple-dense streets subway-free, which means the city runs, quite literally, on buses.
Sign up to read the full story
Arashiyama's Bamboo Grove and How to See It Without the Crowds
That empty, sunlit bamboo path from every travel photo exists for about an hour each morning before tour groups claim it. A strategy for timing, a side entrance through a Zen temple, and what else in the district earns a full day.
Sign up to read the full story