Kitaca

Normal unregistered Kitaca (on top) and the debut memorial Kitaca (on bottom)

Ticket gates with Kitaca readers at Hassamu-Chūō Station, Sapporo

Kitaca (キタカ, Kitaka) is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport in Sapporo, Japan. Hokkaidō Railway Company (JR Hokkaidō) 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

55 stations in Sapporo area, including unmanned stations, accept Kitaca.

• Hakodate Main Line: From Otaru to Iwamizawa
• Chitose Line: From Sapporo to Shin-Chitose-Kūkō (New Chitose Airport) and to Tomakomai
• Sasshō Line (Gakuentoshi Line): From Sapporo to Hokkaidō-Iryō-Daigaku

Types of cards

• Unregistered Kitaca
• Registered Kitaca: Needs a registration. The card can be reissued when lost.
• Kitaca commuter pass: Needs a registration.

Credit card function is also considered. North Pacific Bank, the largest local bank of Hokkaidō, 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. ^[2]

Integrations

The kitaca card be used anywhere that JR East's Suica from spring 2009, including its electronic money function. ^[3]

Since late 2012, the card can also be used in lieu of a SAPICA, a smart card system introduced by Sapporo City Transportation Bureau from January 2009.. ^[4]

References

External links

• (Japanese) Official website by JR Hokkaidō
• (Japanese) Official press release by JR Hokkaidō

JR Group
past: Japanese Government Railways | Japanese National Railways | JNR Settlement Corporation
Passenger Railway Companies	JR Hokkaido	JR East	JR Central	JR-West	JR Shikoku	JR Kyushu
JR Bus Companies	JR Hokkaido Bus	JR Bus Tohoku	JR Tokai Bus	West JR Bus	JR Shikoku Bus	JR Kyushu Bus
		JR Bus Kanto		Chugoku JR Bus
		JR Bustech
Smart cards	Kitaca	Suica	TOICA	ICOCA	ICOCA (SHIKOKU ICOCA)	SUGOCA
Others	JR Freight	RTRI	JR Systems
Description companies	JRTT
See also	Shinkansen - Railway Museum - Modern Transportation Museum - SCMaglev and Railway Park - SoftBank Telecom

Mass transit in Hokkaido
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JR named trains	Hayabusa Hayate Cassiopeia Hakuchō Hamanasu Hokuto Ishikari Kitami Lilac Okhotsk Sarobetsu Super Hakuchō Super Hokuto Super Kamui Super Ōzora Super Sōya Super Tokachi Super White Arrow Suzuran Twilight Express White Arrow
Other railways	Hakodate Streetcar Sapporo Streetcar Taiheiyō Coal (freight only) South Hokkaido Railway Company
Sapporo Municipal Subway	Namboku Tōzai Tōhō
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 Kaikyo Ferry(ja) (Hakodate <=> Aomori) Seikan Ferry(ja) (Hakodate <=> Aomori) Shin Nihonkai Ferry MOL Ferry(ja) Taiheiyo Ferry(ja) Haboro-Enkai Ferry(ja) (Haboro <=> Yagishiri Island)
Miscellaneous	Shinkansen Cards Kitaca SAPICA Tunnels Seikan Tunnel
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