SUGOCA is a Japanese rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport in and around Fukuoka Prefecture. The Kyushu Railway Company introduced the system on March 1, 2009. The name is an acronym of "Smart Urban GOing CArd", while sugoka (凄か) in the local Kyūshū dialect means "great". Like other electronic fare collection systems in Japan, the card uses RFID technology developed by Sony Corporation, known as FeliCa. American graphic artist Rodney Greenblat designed its official mascot, a frog with a clock.
Automatic turnstile of SUGOCA
SUGOCA card reader for a store
The Kyushu Railway Company, also referred to as JR Kyushu , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group. It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait between Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea. It also operates hotels, restaurants, and drugstores across its service region. JR Kyushu's headquarters are in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka.
JR Kyushu headquarters (7th floor) near Hakata Station
Kyushu Shinkansen 800 series Tsubame
885 series White Sonic limited express EMU
The Seven Stars in Kyushu Class DF200 locomotive DF200-7000, September 2013