Kind of a cool discovery today, and I thought I’d exploit it for what the kids call “content”.

Some backstory, though.  I’ve been going back and forth to Japan, when possible, since about 2006, and I’m planning to go again later this year.  This has always been a good time, but it hasn’t always been the easiest thing from a tech standpoint.  Cell phones in Japan, for example, used different radio frequencies and standards compared to almost anywhere else in the world, meaning that going back and forth between Japan and the US meant buying one of a tiny handful of dual-mode phones.

Thankfully, that particular problem died due to Apple entering the phone market.  I’m not sure if communications standards changed or whether Apple just wanted to sell the same phone everywhere in the world so all iPhones were dual-mode phones, but I was very relieved when I got to Narita in like 2010 and my iPhone 3GS hooked right up to the SoftBank network and stayed there for the rest of the trip.

Sadly, the last time I was in Japan was like 2017 – thanks, Corona – and there were still some things you couldn’t do with a foreign phone, like Apple Pay for purchases and for transit.

Come 2023.  I’m prepping for this year’s trip, my wife is coming this time, and I’m concerned because I would like to get her a Suica card for trains and vending machines but  Japan Rail is currently not issuing new Suica cards due to a chip shortage.  So, we sit down and watch a video on the current state of things and discover that there’s a tourist-specific Suica that she’ll be able to get, even if it expires after 28 days.

The video ALSO claims that you can just add a Suica to Apple wallet and it will create you one out of thin air, and I was a little skeptical about that but figured I would try it.

OK, so here’s where I was legitimately shocked.  You can go into Apple Wallet, tell it you want to add a transit pass, scroll down to Japan and pick Suica and it just works.  That was stunning, but not exactly shocking.

What amazed me was that the phone prompted me to import my existing physical card, and when I chose this option it was just like, OK, lay your phone on top of your Suica and leave it there for a minute.

I hadn’t used the card since 2017, so when it gave me a random “that didn’t work, bro” sort of error message I wasn’t too surprised.  Like, after 6 years of disuse I wouldn’t be shocked if my card aged out of the system, right?

But, there was a “Try Again” button so I gave it one more chance.

It seems I left about twenty bucks on my account the last time I left Japan.  Not a bad thing to get back.

OK, so.  I haven’t actually tested this out.  It’s possible that I’ll get to Japan, try to tap my phone on a turnstile and just get an embarrassing failure sound.  But right now, at this precise moment in time, it looks like this is going to work and that’s pretty cool.

Maybe Apple Pay will work, too?  OK, that’s just fantasy land territory at this point.