Prepaid Passes

Is it possible to buy any prepaid passes/cards like the Suica card before I get to Japan (to have it shipped locally instead of picking up in Japan)?

No. Why would you want to do that?

as above why would you want to? suica ic cards can be purchased easily at most JR ticket machines and offices.

I would prefer to save time and be prepared in advanced.


What can be obtained in advanced that is useful in Japan other than a Japan rail pass (there is a time limit though from what I understand)?

Perhaps in special cases like they are entering via Narita but want an Icoca to cover some of the specific areas in Kansai not covered by Suica, or are entering via KIX and want to use Suica to ride green cars in JR East. But practically wise, it doesn't make sense to buy IC cards ahead of time since they are readily available virtually any point where you'd want to enter the system anyway. It wouldn't really translate to much time savings or convenience to order them ahead of time.

I agree with all posters: its very easy to get them on arrival.
BUT I know that JTB Australia is offering the ability to purchase prepaid Suica cards prior to arrival: but at a highly inflated price..
( and It seems ICOCA is the better card to have, but Suica is fine in most areas.)
Check with JTB in the USA.

all JTB around the world has prepaid suica card, and ticket service for Disney, USJ etc, but prices are inflated.

I agree with all the other posters, it only takes a few minutes to get a suica card.