JR West have announced plans to extend use of its ICOCA prepaid card service to all Hokuriku Main Line stations in Fukui Prefecture. The ICOCA card is a convenient rechargeable smart card that you can use in place of a ticket on the JR West railway network as well as on subways, private railways and buses throughout Japan. However, until now it has not been supported at stations in Fukui Prefecture. From the summer of 2018 all 19 stations in Fukui Prefecture between Shin-Hikida Station and Ushinoya Station will begin to support the card. The exact commencement date for this service and other details are to be posted by JR West at a later date.
ICOCA can be used interchangeably with IC cards in other areas such as the SUICA card in eastern Japan
Currently, the ICOCA card can only be used on Hokuriku Main Line stations between Maibara and Omi-Shiotsu stations in Shiga Prefecture. However, stations in Ishikawa Prefecture between Daishoji Station and Kanazawa Station will begin to accept the card from April 15th of this year.
For more information on Japanese IC cards like ICOCA and tips for how to use them, please see our article: Japan’s prepaid transportation cards – IC cards.
See also a PDF guide to areas that currently support the ICOCA card.
Article by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.
