Kitaca

Kitaca
	; ; Normal unregistered Kitaca (on top) and the debut commemorative Kitaca (on bottom)
Location	Usable nationwide; Distributed in Hokkaido
Launched	October 25, 2008 (16 years ago)
Operator	Hokkaido Railway Company
Manager	Hokkaido Railway Company
Currency	Japanese yen
Stored-value	Pay as you go
Auto recharge	None
Unlimited use	None (Other non-related unlimited use passes available)
Validity	JR Hokkaido; Sapporo Municipal Subway; Sapporo Streetcar; Hokkaido Chuo Bus; Valid areas of Suica, PASMO, manaca, TOICA, ICOCA, PiTaPa, SUGOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca;
Website	www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/english/ticket/kitaca/index.html

Kitaca (キタカ, Kitaka) is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport in Sapporo, Japan. Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) introduced the system from October 25, 2008. Its name means "the card of north (北, kita)", while 北 is also the first character of Hokkaidō (北海道). Like other electronic fare collection systems in Japan, the card uses RFID technology developed by Sony corporation known as FeliCa. The card has an official mascot of Ezo momonga (Pteromys volans orii), a kind of flying squirrel found in Hokkaidō. The mascot is designed by Sora, an illustrator who lives in Sapporo.^[1]

Usable area

As of March 2024, 69 stations in the Sapporo-Asahikawa area, as well as 6 stations in the Hakodate area including unmanned stations, accept Kitaca.^[2]

Hakodate Main Line: From Hakodate to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and from Otaru to Asahikawa
Chitose Line: From Shiroishi to Numanohata, and branch from Minami-Chitose to New Chitose Airport (the whole line)
Muroran Main Line: From Numanohata to Tomakomai
Sasshō Line (Gakuentoshi Line): From Sōen to Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku (the whole line)

Types of cards

Unregistered Kitaca
Registered Kitaca: Requires registration. The card can be reissued when lost.
Kitaca commuter pass: Requires registration.

Credit card function is also considered. North Pacific Bank, the largest local bank of Hokkaido, considers to include Kitaca's functions to its credit card Clover. A plan to introduce an Osaifu-Keitai compliant mobile payment system was cancelled due to the cost. ^[3]

Integration

In 2009, Kitaca became interchangeable with JR East's Suica, including its use of electronic money functionality.^[4] Since late 2012, the card can also be used in lieu of a SAPICA, a smart card system introduced in 2009 by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau.^[5]

In 2013, interoperation was extended country-wide, and Kitaca became usable in all major cities across Japan as part of the Nationwide Mutual Usage Service.^[6]^[7]

References

^ (in Japanese) 北のカード「Kitaca」vol.4〜「エゾモモンガ」の生みの親〜 Archived 2008-10-09 at the Wayback Machine (Northern card "Kitaca" vol.4, the crator of the "Ezo momonga"), from Satsueki.jp, retrieved on October 26, 2008.
^ JR Hokkaido. "Usable Area". Retrieved 2022-10-19.
^ Hokkaidō Shimbun, October 16 2008
^ (in Japanese) Official press release by JR Hokkaidō, December 12 2007.
^ (in Japanese) JR北海道のICカード乗車券「Kitaca」が10月25日にスタート (JR Hokkaidō's IC card ticket "Kitaca" starts on October 25) by BB Watch, October 25 2008.
^ Ito, Etsuro (October 2013). "Launch of Nationwide Interoperable Transport System IC Cards" (PDF). East Japan Railway Culture Foundation. Japan Railway & Transport Review. pp. 6–15. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
^ "交通系ICカードの普及・利便性拡大に向けて" (PDF). MLIT. Retrieved 2022-10-19.

External links

(in Japanese) Official website by JR Hokkaido
(in Japanese) Official press release by JR Hokkaido

[1] (in Japanese) 北のカード「Kitaca」vol.4〜「エゾモモンガ」の生みの親〜 Archived 2008-10-09 at the Wayback Machine (Northern card "Kitaca" vol.4, the crator of the "Ezo momonga"), from Satsueki.jp, retrieved on October 26, 2008.

[2] JR Hokkaido. "Usable Area". Retrieved 2022-10-19.

[3] Hokkaidō Shimbun, October 16 2008

[4] (in Japanese) Official press release by JR Hokkaidō, December 12 2007.

[5] (in Japanese) JR北海道のICカード乗車券「Kitaca」が10月25日にスタート (JR Hokkaidō's IC card ticket "Kitaca" starts on October 25) by BB Watch, October 25 2008.

[:03-6] Ito, Etsuro (October 2013). "Launch of Nationwide Interoperable Transport System IC Cards" (PDF). East Japan Railway Culture Foundation. Japan Railway & Transport Review. pp. 6–15. Retrieved March 7, 2024.

[7] "交通系ICカードの普及・利便性拡大に向けて" (PDF). MLIT. Retrieved 2022-10-19.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Mass transit in Hokkaido
JR Hokkaido lines	Hokkaido Shinkansen ■■ Chitose ■ Furano ■■■ Hakodate ■ Hidaka ■ Kaikyō ■■ Muroran ■■ Nemuro ■ Rumoi ■ Sasshō ■ Sekihoku ■ Sekishō ■ Senmō ■ Sōya
JR named trains	Hayabusa Hayate Hokuto Kamui Kitami Lilac Okhotsk Ōzora Sarobetsu Sōya Suzuran Taisetsu Tokachi
Discontinued JR named trains	Cassiopeia Hakuchō Hamanasu Ishikari Super Hakuchō Super White Arrow Twilight Express White Arrow
Sapporo Municipal Subway	Namboku Line Tōzai Line Tōhō Line
Other railways	South Hokkaido Railway Company Hakodate Streetcar Sapporo Streetcar Taiheiyō Coal (freight only)
Terminals	Rail Hakodate Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Sapporo Ōdōri Shin-Sapporo Asahikawa Airports Asahikawa New Chitose Hakodate Kushiro Memanbetsu Monbetsu Nakashibetsu Okadama Okushiri Rishiri Tokachi–Obihiro Wakkanai Ports Hakodate Otaru Tomakomai Kushiro
Public Ferries	Heart Land Ferry (ja) (Wakkanai—N. Islands) Silver Ferry (Tomakomai—Hachinohe) Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry (Hakodate—Aomori) Seikan Ferry (Hakodate—Aomori) Shin Nihonkai Ferry MOL Ferry Taiheiyō Ferry Haboro-Enkai Ferry (ja) (Haboro—Yagishiri Island)
Miscellaneous	Cards Kitaca SAPICA Tunnels Seikan Tunnel
Japan transit: Tokyo Keihanshin Nagoya Fukuoka Hakone Fuji Izu Hokkaido Aomori Sendai Akita Niigata Toyama Nagano Okayama Hiroshima Shikoku Metro systems Shinkansen trams (list) aerial lifts (list)