The Suica is a prepaid e-money card for moving around and shopping. There is no more need to buy a ticket from a vending machine. Just touch your Suica to the ticket gate and the fare is automatically deducted from your Suica. The Suica can be used not only for JR East trains, but subways and buses as well.
The Suica can also be used to pay for things with e-money. Buy soft drinks and coffee from vending machines and on the train. For traveling in Japan, the Suica makes a more pleasant trip.
If you have Apple Pay I would recommend to install your card digital in your wallet. You can check your balance immediately and it is easy to recharge with Apple Pay. If you don’t want to install it on your phone you can buy a card. The Suica can be purchased in major JR EAST stations at Multifunction Ticket Vending Machines, JR Ticket Offices (Midori-no-madoguchi).
For more information you can check out the JR website.
