Quick Info 

Name of Service: Mobile Suica
Name in Japanese: モバイルSuica
Type of Service: JR Pass, Prepaid JR Ticket, Prepaid E-Money
Website: http://www.jreast.co.jp/mobilesuica/
Cost: Annual Charge May Apply
Compatible providers/models: All providers, newer models only

Introduction

Mobile Suica is JR East's mobile version of their popular Suica card. If you live in Tokyo, you'll probably already have one, and use it either as a commuter pass, a stored-fare card (where money is taken out of the card every time you use a JR line), or as a payment method in JR stations. If you live in Osaka and Kobe, you might know it as "Icoca". Essentially, it's the same thing: a contactless smartcard used with Japan Railways.

By installing Mobile Suica on your Osaifu-Keitai, you will be able to get on JR trains by just waving your phone over the entrance gates, recharge your credit from your phone, and upgrade to a Green Car ticket without ever taking your finger off the keys.

For anyone who lives in the Tokyo or Osaka areas and uses the JR lines with any kind of frequency, this is a very useful service to have - no more loose change in the ticket machines, no more calculating how much you have to pay. Just touch and go!

Installing the Service

Before proceding with installation, you need to make sure you have a compatible credit card. Because you can't insert your phone into ticket machines to recharge your credit, you have to have a credit card on which to charge all the money you load onto your phone. If you have a Suica VIEW card, then you're ready to go and the service is free. If you have a Visa, MasterCard, or JCB card, you can still use the service, but note that you may be charged an annual fee between 100 and 1000 yen sometime next year. Using Mobile Suica is otherwise free.

Important: you cannot remove the Mobile Suica applet on your own. If you decide to stop using Mobile Suica and wish to delete it, you will have to visit your mobile phone provider's shop and get your phone fully formatted.

1) The first step is, after making sure your phone is compatible, is to register for the service on your computer. You can register directly on your phone, but as you can use an automatic translator to help you out, using a computer is easier. Register by going to the Mobile Suica account site, and clicking on the first link ("仮会員登録"). On the page that follows, make sure your credit card bears one of those logos, then click on the first of the two options (the second is if you already have an account on EkiNet). On the following page, click on the rightmost button to accept the terms.

2) The next page asks you for your mobile phone's model. Select your provider from the top list, then the model from the bottom list. If your phone isn't on the list, then it isn't currently compatible with the service.

3) Next is the hardest bit of the entire procedure: the registration form! Here's what information you have to type in, starting from the top.
- Surname/Name (Kanji or Katakana)
- Surname/Name (Katakana)
- Birthdate (Year/Month/Day)
- Gender (Male/Female)
- Postcode
- Home phone number (No hyphens)
- Computer E-mail address

- Mobile phone number (In the format XXX-XXXX-XXXX)
- Mobile phone E-mail address
- Mobile phone E-mail address (Confirm)
- Suica password (6-8 digits, this is the password you will use to login to your phone's applet)
- Suica password (Confirm)
- Personal question (Choose a personal question to answer. If you can't read the questions, choose the first one and make sure you remember an answer for it! The first option is "favourite train", by the way)
- Personal question's answer (If you can't remember your Suica password, you WILL have to remember this to retrieve it) 

- Credit card number (No hyphens)
- Credit card expiry date (Year/Month)

Once you're happy with all the data, click on the rightmost button to confirm.

4) Once you've registered, the next step is to set up your phone. If you're on NTT DoCoMo, you'll have two applets to download. For all other providers, just one. Visit the Mobile Suica download page on your computer and scan the barcode with your phone to access the applet download page.

5) The download page will all be in Japanese, unfortunately. Follow the pictures on this page however, and you should find the applet without a problem. Basically follow the "ダウンロード" (download) links.

6) Now it's time to run the downloaded applet. If you're on NTT DoCoMo, it will prompt you to download another applet. Just follow the links and let it work.

7) The Mobile Suica applet will start up, asking you to input your mobile phone E-mail address and Suica Password, as shown in step 2 of this page. Ignore the rest of the instructions on that page, they assume you haven't already registered for the service.

8) Once you've logged in, the applet will ask you if you wish to convert an existing commuter pass to your Mobile Suica account. If you do, select the top option (as shown on step 11 of the afore-mentioned page). If you don't, select the bottom option (if you've never used Suica before, this is what you want).

9) Finished! You are now ready to use Mobile Suica.

 Recharging Credit

Since your Suica card is now on your phone, you can't insert it into the ticket machines in the JR stations (and I don't recommend you try). Recharging credit is done exclusively on your phone itself. Simply start up the applet, select option 2 from the menu, enter how much credit you want to add, and you're done! This credit is valid for both travel and shop use.