Japan Rail Pass - Damaged ticket that stopped working

As the JR Pass is now a paper ticket that is inserted into a JR ticket gate whenever you travel, it can be susceptible to daily wear and tear. We recommend keeping it in a handy case or ticket wallet while not in use, to keep it safe and protected.

If your JR Pass ticket stops working for any reason during its validity period (for example it gets torn, dirty or water damaged) , and it’s no longer accepted in the automatic JR ticket gates, it is possible to take the damaged pass to a participating JR ticket office or Travel Service Center along with your passport, and staff there should be able to print a replacement ticket for you. 

Not all JR offices are willing or able to assist with this however, so if a replacement pass cannot be printed don’t worry, you can continue to use your original JR Pass by simply showing it to JR staff at the manned ticket gates; they will allow you to access the platform as long as the ticket is still legible and they can see that it is still valid for use.

Unfortunately a lost JR Pass cannot be reprinted or refunded.