New Welcome to Kanto Pasmo IC Card is the most kawaii way to ride trains on a trip to Japan

Only in Japan would a company create a kawaii train pass card

Only a limited quantity of these cute Mt Fuji sakura cards will be available.

If you’ve ever visited Japan, you’ll know that the easiest way to get around on public transport is with a rechargeable prepaid IC card. In Tokyo, commuters can use either a Pasmo or Suica card on their journeys, tapping the card on touch panel screens when making their way in and out of ticket gates at stations and when boarding buses, doing their bit to keep the city’s busy transport system running efficiently.

While the green-and-silver Suica card comes with an adorable image of a penguin, the Pasmo card is somewhat less exciting to look at, coming with a picture of a small pink bus and train. Starting from Christmas Day, though, Pasmo will be winning in the design stakes, with a brand new Welcome to Kanto card that features some of Japan’s most iconic symbols.

Japan Railway Journal Episode 37

15 million people commute in and out of Tokyo every day, and most of them now use prepaid e-money cards. Because one card can be recognized by multiple transport companies, the system has streamlined automated fare collection. A card's IC chip has an e-wallet function, and can store information such as boarding section and expiration dates on monthly passes; all of which can be verified in just 0.2 seconds. See how these cards and the technology behind them have transformed rail travel in Japan.