If you fly out of Japan with a Suica or PASMO card still in your wallet, you are leaving money behind — and most visitors never find out whether that money is even possible to get back. The answer depends entirely on which kind of card you ended up with, and one of the two most common cards cannot be refunded at the airport you're most likely to be flying from. Here's exactly what happens to the balance and the deposit for each type, and where to go before your flight.
First, which card do you actually have?
Everything below splits on one question: did you buy a tourist card (Welcome Suica, Welcome Suica Mobile, or Tourist PASMO) with no deposit, or a regular card (physical Suica/PASMO, or Suica loaded into Apple Pay/Google Wallet) with the standard ¥500 deposit? If you're not sure which you have, our guide to choosing a Suica, PASMO or contactless card walks through how each one is sold. The short version for this article: tourist cards skip the deposit specifically because you're not meant to get anything back.
Tourist cards: Welcome Suica and Tourist PASMO
If you bought a Welcome Suica or Tourist PASMO at the airport, there's nothing to refund. Neither card charges a deposit, and neither refunds the leftover balance — the trade-off for skipping the ¥500 upfront is that whatever yen is left on the card when it expires (28 days for the physical Welcome Suica, 180 days for Welcome Suica Mobile) is simply gone. The only way to get value out of it is to spend it down: a last convenience-store coffee or a drink from a station vending machine on the way to the gate works fine.
Regular Suica: refundable, but only at a JR East counter
A regular physical Suica — the kind with a ¥500 deposit, no expiry, and no reselling it to the next tourist — can be refunded for the remaining balance minus a ¥220 handling fee, plus the full ¥500 deposit back. If your balance is under ¥220, the fee simply eats the balance and you still get the ¥500 back.
The catch is where. Suica is a JR East product, so refunds only happen at a JR East ticket counter (Midori no Madoguchi) or Travel Service Center — not at a ticket machine, and not at a private-railway or subway window. That matters at the airport: Haneda has no JR East counter, because Haneda is served by Keikyu and Tokyo Monorail, not JR East. If you're flying out of Haneda, refund the card at a JR East station in the city (Tokyo Station or Shinjuku both work) before you head to the airport. Narita is easier — the JR East Travel Service Center in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 can process the refund right there.
There's a second catch that catches out people flying home from somewhere other than Tokyo: Suica only refunds at JR East counters, which means a Suica bought in Tokyo can't be refunded at Kansai Airport or Chubu Centrair — those are ICOCA and Manaca territory, different companies entirely. If your trip ends outside the Kanto/Tohoku area, spend the balance down or hang onto the card for your next visit (it doesn't expire).
Regular PASMO: a different network, a useful airport advantage
PASMO is issued by the Tokyo-area private railways and subways, not JR East, so the refund process runs through a different set of counters — Tokyo Metro, Toei, Tokyu, Keisei or Keikyu ticket windows (again, a staffed counter, not a machine). Ask for a "PASMO return" (ソギブメカの). The deposit structure is the same ¥500, though reports on whether a handling fee applies are inconsistent enough between sources that we'd rather you confirm the exact fee at the counter than take our word for a number.
The advantage PASMO has over Suica, specifically for this errand, is that it can be refunded airside: Keikyu runs a ticket office at Haneda, and Keisei runs one at Narita, so a PASMO can be closed out in the terminal in a way a Suica can't at Haneda. If you expect to fly out of Haneda and don't already have a card, that alone is a reason to pick up a PASMO instead of a Suica this trip.
Mobile Suica (Apple Pay / Google Wallet)
If your Suica lives on your phone, the refund path is different again. Getting the balance and deposit back onto a bank account requires a Japanese bank account entered into the official Suica app (not Apple Wallet or Google Wallet themselves, which don't have a refund function) — which most visitors don't have. Without one, the practical move is the same as with a tourist card: spend the balance down before your flight rather than leave it stranded. Welcome Suica Mobile specifically is non-refundable regardless, the same as the physical Welcome Suica.
At a glance
| Card | Deposit | Balance refundable? | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Suica / Welcome Suica Mobile | None | No — spend it down | — |
| Tourist PASMO | None | No — spend it down | — |
| Regular Suica (physical) | ¥500 | Yes, minus ¥220 fee | JR East counter only (not Haneda; Narita T1/T2 OK) |
| Regular PASMO (physical) | ¥500 | Yes (fee: confirm at counter) | Tokyo Metro/Toei/Tokyu/Keisei/Keikyu windows, incl. Haneda & Narita |
| Mobile Suica (Apple Pay/Google Wallet) | ¥500 | Yes, but needs a Japanese bank account | Official Suica app only |
We keep a spare physical Suica at home in Kawasaki for whichever friend or family member is visiting that month, and the Haneda gap above is the thing that trips almost all of them up: they assume any station card counter will take it back, go looking for one past security at Haneda, and find Keikyu and monorail windows instead of a JR East one. Now we just tell everyone flying out of Haneda to settle the card at Tokyo Station on the way, and anyone flying from Narita that the Travel Service Center in the terminal handles it on the spot.
FAQ
Can I refund a Suica or PASMO after I've left Japan?
No. Both systems only process refunds in person at a staffed counter inside Japan, and there's no mail-in or online option for visitors. Whatever is left on the card when you board is final once you're through the gate.
Is it worth refunding a small balance, or should I just keep the card?
If you're coming back to Japan at some point, a regular Suica or PASMO doesn't expire from inactivity for up to 10 years, so keeping a small balance and the card itself for next time is often less hassle than queuing for a ¥220-¥280 net refund. If you're not coming back, refund it or spend it down — don't let it sit in a drawer.
Does the Japan Rail Pass or an IC card refund work the same way?
No overlap at all. The Rail Pass is a separate paper/QR product with its own activation and no deposit; Suica and PASMO are stored-fare cards. You can hold a Rail Pass and a Suica at the same time, and refunding one has nothing to do with the other.
If this is the first you're hearing that regular IC cards even have a refund process, it's worth deciding which card to get before your trip rather than after — see our card-choosing guide above, or check what else to budget for in our Japan travel budget breakdown before you land.
