Cities like Tokyo and Osaka are best explored by train. Although many travellers opt to get a JR Pass for their time in Japan, the JR Pass can only be used on JR-operated trains, which may be somewhat limiting. Other private rail companies such as the city metro companies offer their own single-day and/or multi-day passes for use on their networks.

These passes can certainly save you money if you are doing a lot of travel in one day on the network covered by the relevant pass, but what if you are only taking a couple of local trips each day, or simply want the flexibility to choose which rail network you use -- and even perhaps use some local buses?

The solution: Pick up an IC card! These reloadable smart cards allow you to tap on and tap off of nearly any public transport in major cities and many regional ones as well, and will automatically deduct the fare (often with a discount compared to the cash fare).

In Tokyo, the main options are SUICA (offered by JR East) and PASMO (offered by Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway). There are alternate versions offered by companies in other regions as well, such as ICOCA (JR West, popular in Osaka).

Each IC card costs 1000 yen to buy, which includes a 500 yen deposit and 500 yen of credit. The deposit and any unused balance is usually refundable, less a small service fee (around 200 yen), but there are also special tourist versions of some cards that do not require a deposit (but also cannot have the balance refunded). Usually, IC cards can only be topped up at a ticket machine with cash.