Hacker News Reader

That was not my experience in Japan; I found that it still took a second to go through every time, just like in New York/etc.

View on HN

Am in Japan now and can confirm: you got a broken one. It's magically fast, everywhere. I prefer it even at the 7-eleven. Why wait the interminable 2 seconds for your Visa 'cardo touchy' to work when Suica is literally instant.

Reading this article it makes sense why it feels too fast to be real, especially when using a powered phone. The things are already communicating as my hand is moving towards the reader. By the time it gets there, it's happened.

Stunningly good.

I spent 2 weeks in Japan and used the Suica card near-daily in multiple cities. Sometimes it wouldn't even activate until I tapped it again, other times there was a delay.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com