JR East Travel Service Center Tokyo: 7 Counters, Hours, Passport

JR East Travel Service Center Tokyo is on the 1st floor of Tokyo Station: go through the Marunouchi North Gate and it is on your left, open 8:30–19:00 every day, and JR East flags it and five other centers — Haneda, Shibuya, Ueno and both Narita terminals — as mainly for international visitors. The earliest counter to open is at Haneda Airport (Tokyo Monorail, Terminal 3 station) at 6:45, and Shinjuku's visitor counter runs 8:00–19:00 even though the rest of that store keeps shorter hours. Bring your original passport to exchange or buy a pass — a photocopy or another form of ID will not do. A sign at the Shibuya center warns that Tokaido Shinkansen tickets booked on JR Central's Express Reservation or smartEX cannot be issued, changed or refunded there; you collect them at a reserved-seat ticket machine.

The seven counters set up for international visitors

JR East flags six of its Travel Service Centers as mainly for international visitors, and Shinjuku runs a separate visitor counter alongside the rest of its store — seven counters worth knowing about if you land in Tokyo.

Of the six JR EAST Travel Service Centers that JR East's store list flags as mainly for international visitors, four stay open until 19:00 or later — Tokyo, Haneda, Narita Terminal 1 and Narita Terminal 2 — while Shibuya and Ueno close at 18:00 (store list dated April 2025, checked September 2026). Tokyo Station has two stores under this name with different hours; 8:30–19:00 is the time JR East's English-language page gives for the Tokyo center.

JR East's English-language page also lists Ikebukuro and Takanawa Gateway among Tokyo's stations with a center. Ikebukuro (West Exit) is a regular store open 10:00–17:00 on the April 2025 list; Takanawa Gateway does not appear on that list, so its hours are not given here.

Shibuya and Shinjuku: what the signs at the door say

Shibuya and Shinjuku are the two counters I've walked past and read the signage on, and both spell out rules that trip visitors up before they even reach the desk.

At Shibuya, the counter is on the 1st floor, straight ahead as you come out of the South Gate, on the East Exit side. The door lists BUSINESS HOURS as 9:00 to 18:00, with Japan Rail Pass, JR EAST Pass and JR Tickets among the services, and a separate sign points to Welcome Suica alongside the pass and ticket options. A notice on the same door says the Midori-no-Madoguchi ticket office is to the right, and another sign nearby lists the Narita Express as departing from Track No. 4. Two warnings on the door matter most for anyone connecting from a JR Central or JR West reservation: JR Central's Express Reservation and smartEX tickets for the Tokaido Shinkansen cannot be issued, changed or refunded here — collect them at a reserved-seat ticket machine instead, and only from three days before travel — and JR West's e5489 bookings are likewise collected at a reserved-seat ticket machine. For the rest of the station's exits, see our Shibuya Station exit guide.

At Shinjuku, the counter sits by the New South Gate, with a currency exchange counter next door. The wall reads Open 8:00 to 19:00, and a free-standing sign at the entrance spells out the passport rule in plain terms: "Please show your original passport. No other ID, no photocopied documents." That same sign lists JR EAST PASS, JAPAN RAIL PASS and JR TOKYO Wide Pass among what's handled there. A second sign, in Japanese, gives 10:00–17:00 for the concierge counter (コンシェルジュカウンター); JR East's store list likewise gives Shinjuku 10:00–17:00 for the store and 8:00–19:00 for the visitor counter, so the pass counter is the one with the longer hours. Other signs visible there: Tourist Information, a stroller-loan service called Bebical, and JR-EAST FREE Wi-Fi.

Tokyo Station: Marunouchi North, with a second pass counter on the Yaesu side

The main Tokyo Station counter is on the 1st floor, straight through the Marunouchi North Gate and then to the left, open 8:30 to 19:00 every day of the year, according to JR East's English-language page for the Tokyo center. It handles purchases of passes and JR tickets for the eastern Japan network, pickup of passes and tickets booked through JR-EAST Train Reservation, sightseeing information for eastern Japan and the Hokuriku area, maps of the Tokyo area, JR-EAST FREE Wi-Fi, same-day-only temporary baggage storage, foreign-currency exchange, and a prayer room open 10:00 to 17:00. Cards accepted include JCB, VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club and Discover.

There's a second pass-exchange option on the Yaesu side: JR East's page states that a counter inside JAPAN RAIL CAFE TOKYO, just outside the Yaesu Central Exit in the GRAN TOKYO NORTH TOWER's 1st floor, can also handle pass exchange, though we have not confirmed that counter's hours. Passes sold or exchanged at the Tokyo counter include the JR EAST PASS, JR Tohoku-South Hokkaido, JR East-South Hokkaido and Hokuriku Arch Pass for travel beyond Tokyo, and the JR TOKYO Wide Pass, N'EX TOKYO Round Trip Ticket, NONBIRI Holiday Suica Pass, Tokunai Pass, Tokyo 1-Day Ticket and Yokohama Minatomirai Pass for the Tokyo area. For the station layout around both exits, see our Tokyo Station Marunouchi and Yaesu guide, and for boarding the shinkansen at Tokyo Station with e-tickets and luggage, see our Tokyo Station shinkansen guide.

At the airports: Haneda opens at 6:45, Narita Terminal 2 closes at 20:00

Three airport counters round out the list, and all three run every day of the year. Haneda Airport's counter, at the Tokyo Monorail's Terminal 3 station, opens earliest of any of the seven at 6:45 and closes at 20:00. Narita Airport Terminal 1's counter runs 8:30 to 19:00, and the Terminal 2 counter, at the Airport Terminal 2 station, stays open until 20:00 — matching Haneda for the latest close among the visitor-focused counters.

If you plan to ride the Narita Express on Saturday, November 7, 2026: tunnel work closes the Yokosuka Line between Tokyo and Shinagawa all day, and the Narita Express runs only between Tokyo and Narita Airport, with no service between Tokyo and Shinjuku or between Tokyo and Ofuna (notice posted at the Shibuya center). Build in extra time or a different route if your plans that day depend on the Narita Express running its full route. For a broader comparison of the two airports, see our Narita vs. Haneda guide.

Which counter to use, by where you land and where you stay

Where you land and where you're sleeping that night usually decides which counter makes sense.

• Landing at Haneda early in the morning: the Haneda counter opens at 6:45, earlier than any other center on this list.
• Landing at Narita: Terminal 1's counter runs until 19:00, Terminal 2's until 20:00.
• Staying in Shinjuku: the visitor counter by the New South Gate runs 8:00 to 19:00 — see our Shinjuku Station hotels guide.
• Staying in Shibuya: the counter runs 9:00 to 18:00, so aim to arrive before evening — see our Shibuya Station hotels guide.
• Departing from Tokyo Station by shinkansen: the Marunouchi North counter runs 8:30 to 19:00.
• Staying near or departing from Ueno: the counter at the Central Gate runs 8:00 to 18:00 — with Shibuya, the earliest close on this list.

Anyone landing later in the day should note that Shibuya and Ueno both close at 18:00; if a same-day exchange matters, an airport counter, Tokyo Station or Shinjuku's visitor desk will keep you covered until 19:00 or 20:00 instead. The door signs at Shibuya also point to Welcome Suica alongside JR Pass and tickets; the sign does not say what the counter does for it. If you plan to use the iPhone app, our Welcome Suica Mobile guide covers what it can and can't do.

What to bring, and what these counters cannot do

Rules from signs at the Shibuya and Shinjuku centers and from JR East's official pages (official pages checked September 2026).

One gap worth flagging: JR East's store list says general "consultation" services — travel planning, JR East's own travel packages, and eki-net and Mobile Suica support — require advance booking at the regular stores, but it does not mention booking for pass exchange at the visitor-focused centers above. The Tokyo counter's baggage storage is same-day only, not a forwarding or courier service; if lockers near your station are full, see our guide to what to do when Japan's coin lockers are full.

FAQ: JR East Travel Service Center Tokyo

Where can I exchange my JR Pass in Tokyo?

JR East flags these counters as mainly for international visitors: Tokyo Station's Marunouchi North counter (1F, turn left after the gate, 8:30–19:00), Shinjuku's visitor counter by the New South Gate (8:00–19:00), Shibuya (9:00–18:00, on the East Exit side), Ueno's Central Gate counter (8:00–18:00), and the airport counters at Haneda (6:45–20:00) and Narita Terminals 1 and 2 (8:30–19:00 and 8:30–20:00).

Do I need my passport to exchange a JR Pass?

Yes. The sign at the Shinjuku counter states it directly: bring your original passport, since no other form of ID and no photocopied documents are accepted.

Which JR East Travel Service Center opens earliest, and which stays open latest?

Haneda Airport's counter opens earliest, at 6:45. For latest closing, Haneda and Narita Terminal 2 both run until 20:00.

Can the counter issue or refund my smartEX ticket for the Tokaido Shinkansen?

No. A sign at the Shibuya center states that tickets booked through JR Central's Express Reservation or smartEX cannot be issued, changed or refunded at that counter; they have to be collected at a reserved-seat ticket machine, and only from three days before the travel date.