When you pass through transit gates in Japan they make a beep. Everybody knows that but did you know the number of beeps and the length of the beeps have different meanings?
Suica gate sounds
It’s helpful knowing basic transit gate alert and alarm sounds and what they mean. The basic Suica sound is what JR East calls ‘pi’ not beep because it sounds like a bird chirp.
A single ‘pi’ at the entry gate to let you know your Suica card was read properly and your transit has started, commuter pass users will also hear a single ‘pi’ at exit gates within their pass route that means the pass is valid and no Suica balance was deducted.
A double ‘pi-pi’ at the exit gate that means the fare was deduced from your Suica balance and you are good to go. You’ll hear the same Suica double ‘pi-pi’ balance deduction sound when paying at stores or vending machines.
When a problem happens pay attention to the alert or alarm sound and confirm problem details on the gate status screen. Alerts and alarms are the same all over Japan and come in 3 categories:
1. Misread alert: 5 rapid ‘pi-pi-pi-pi-pi’ with flashing red lights shown in the video below (2 rapid misreads in this case) means the gate could not read the Suica and you need to tap again.
2. Transit fare alarm: a long ‘pi’ followed by the bing-bong sound is the most common alarm and means something is wrong with the transit fare, either the Suica card balance is too low to pay fare and you need to add money, or some other fare adjustment needs to be made, such as trying to enter a station gate with the Suica card still ‘In Progress’. All JR East gates announce the specific problem in Japanese, newer gates announce in Japanese followed by English (“Please top up”, “Please see staff for assistance”, “Please step back and touch your IC card or insert your ticket”).
3. Fare Evasion Alarm: when the gate detects a person going through without tapping Suica or inserting a ticket, it will sound the infamous ‘rainbow’ sound with multiple color flashing lights. Back up and tap Suica or insert a ticket. An interesting point is that the alarm doesn’t trigger with small children going through wth a parent. Children 6 and under are free, only two children can go through with one fare paying adult at a time.
Another interesting side point is the Japanese word for train fare evasion: “kiseru”, literally pipe, specially the Edo era traditional tobacco pipe seen in period dramas. But why kiseru? Blowing smoke right? As in you’re just blowing smoke, pretending to have something you don’t have. In this case acting like you have a train ticket when you do not.
One last thing. Your Suica has a sound notification option for gate reader feedback. JR East calls this audio guidance as it was originally for blind users. When turned on you’ll hear a triple ‘pi-pi-pi’ at the exit gate or store reader when the Suica card balance drops below ¥1,000. I find this option very useful as the triple pi-pi-pi catches your attention but doesn’t trip you up. A gentle reminder that it’s time to add money. The plastic card guide is below. Mobile Suica users can ask station gate staff to enable the setting by placing your device on the reader. The Japanese name for the setting is 音声案内 “onsei annai”.
In my iPhone X Suica problem video you can hear the 1 beep commute plan sound, the 2 beep SF transit sound and the 5 beep misread sound patterns. Listen carefully near the end to catch the 2 beep SF sound as iPhone X finally clears the gate, at the very end a bing-bong error sounds in the background from a nearby gate.
There are 2 extra Suica gate sound notifications that you can set in Suica App > Notification Sounds:
The extra Suica App notification sounds are:
- 2 long beeps when Suica commute plan validity is less than 14 days and needs to be renewed before expiration (Suica commute plans at the gate are normally single beep)
- 3 beeps when SF balance is ¥1,000 or less. Store readers support this sound too not just transit gates, and is quite convenient.
Both of these sounds are different from regular gate beeps and catch your attention, which is the whole point. Here is a video with the 2 long beep Suica commute plan expiration warning:
Suica sounds are just one of the many FeliCa feedback sounds used by the different payment networks (iD, QUICPay, WAON, nanaco, etc.). Suica sounds might seem trivial but they are well thought out: the sound itself, light but firm, insistent yet unobtrusive, it carries exceptionally well in noisy station gate areas.
Suica gate sounds provide important feedback for users and station staff, and especially the visually impaired. Tune in and you hear what’s going on with your Apple Pay Suica card. Tune out and the Suica sounds fade seamlessly into the background, yet are there at a moments notice.
You must be logged in to post a comment.