In this topic I would like to share the difference between Suica and Welcome Suica.
Suica is an IC card issued by East Japan Railway Company and can be used for trains, buses, shopping, etc.
Welcome Suica is an electronic money system for short-term visitors to Japan that can be used for transportation and shopping. There are several differences between Suica and Welcome Suica.
Please check it out below for a summary of design, expiration dates, deposits, and refunds respectively.

・Suica card


Design：Cards with a simple green and silver background. The lower right mascot, Suica’s Penguin, is adorable.

Validity：Suica will expire and become unusable after 10 years of no use for train and bus rides and shopping.

Deposit：Suica cards can be used repeatedly after purchase. In order to prevent the cards from being disposable, a 500 yen deposit is required at the time of initial purchase.

Refunds：The remaining charge minus a handling charge of 220 yen, plus a deposit of 500 yen, will be refunded.

Important Note：As of September 2024, continued to suspend sales of no -name “Suica” and “PASMO” cards due to a high likelihood of insufficient stock at the latest available supply volume.

・Welcome Suica card



Design：The design is based on red and white, the base colors of the Japanese flag.
The motif of cherry blossoms, which symbolize Japan, is beautiful.

Validity：It’s good for 28 days. Once the card expires, it can no longer be used.

Deposit：No deposit is required at the time of purchase. You can choose the amount to charge from 1000yen, 2000yen, 3000yen,4000yen, 5000yen and 10000yen, and you can recharge later at any ticket vending machine at stations.

Refunds：Welcome Suica deposits (charge) remaining cannot be refunded.

Enjoy your wonderful trip to Japan(^^