I think maybe no one has noted that as of 2026-03-25, Tokyo Metro now accepts open-loop contactless EMV tap to ride. I believe the result is similar to how in L

I think maybe no one has noted that as of 2026-03-25, Tokyo Metro now accepts open-loop contactless EMV tap to ride. I believe the result is similar to how in London you can use either Oyster or a CC (or OMNY or CC in New York City). But I haven't visited Japan since this development. Apparently, Osaka has run open-loop contactless EMV since 2024-10-29 - I didn't know that when I was there! Of course, I still think you will want an IC if you travel outside Tokyo... IC is also very useful for payments (especially vending machines), though at shops/restaurants I normally have had little trouble using CC if IC is also accepted. (My thanks to another commenter who finally taught me how those Coke ON machines work!) Others have noted that in Japan, where transit utilization is so high, 100ms does seem to count in terms of efficiently moving people through fare gates. Maybe I'm just a yokel but Tokyo Station at rush hour was pretty impressive to me. EMV contactless payments are notably slower where they are used elsewhere. I think that is one reason why some stations (Ginza) are experimenting with dedicated fare gates for EMV (and QR). In London, people have noticed the speed difference between Oyster and EMV contactless. I believe the difference is that EMV was not designed from the ground up for fare gates. Source: https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/tokyo-subway-installing-new-ticket-gates-that-don%E2%80%99t-accept-payment-through-suica-or-other-ic-cards https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/tokyo-subway... I do think it is fair to note that FeliCa seems to attract praise that Calypso does not, despite Calypso doing similar transaction times. Calypso underlies Paris's Navigo cards, as well as Milan's ATM cards (haven't used that system yet)... As a tourist, I always am a bit charmed by learning the ins-and-outs of how local systems work, but maybe that is just my dorkiness. Most transit systems have some hiccups, especially for travelers. Your criticisms of FeliCa/IC/SUICA are fair, but maybe one can view the system more charitably with context. In Paris, you could only use Navigo in your Apple wallet starting 2024-05-XX. A physical Navigo Easy cost 2 EUR (not refundable). If you wanted to buy weekly or monthly passes as a tourist, I believe you were expected to purchase a Navigo Découverte from a station agent and provide them with a pre-printed headshot! Card cost: 5 EUR. I just bought paper tickets in Paris (I haven't been there since carnets stopped being sold 2023). My point is that this kind of stuff has historically been normal for travelers to navigate, whether in Europe or East Asia. I agree that open-loop contactless EMV payment has begun to make transit more frictionless to the traveler, and the patience for local quirks/frictions is dropping. But contactless EMV is still rolling out across the world (not in the Paris Métro yet). For fun you can look up all the cards and apps in Copenhagen (DOT Tickets, Rejsekort, Rejsebillet, Basiskort...). I don't think you can just tap your CC there yet. And, as noted, Japanese metros are introducing open-loop contactless EMV. Of your complaints about physical IC cards, I think that cash top-up is maybe the biggest bother. It would be nice to load value with a debit card. In truth, I never dealt with that because I have an iPhone and a digital IC card. Maybe it would have really bothered me if I couldn't top-up inside Apple Wallet. But in fairness, I remember ~10yrs ago Japan being a lot more cash based at shops and restaurants. You kind of needed to have cash. And one of the things that is very easy in Japan is withdrawing cash at ATMs. But that seems to have changed a lot in 10yrs, and maybe we just have more of an expectation of things being more digital and frictionless... Just the two cents (yen?) of this unworldly US citizen not experienced in public transit.