JR East will begin testing “Shinkansen e-ticket vending machines (tentative name)” at Omiya Station and Utsunomiya Station around the end of fiscal year 2026.
This system allows users to purchase Shinkansen e-tickets in as little as one minute through intuitive operations, without the need to install a dedicated app or complete any prior registration—making it easy even for first-time users. After paying by credit card, passengers can board the train ticketlessly simply by tapping their existing transportation IC card at the ticket gate. This service is available on all Shinkansen lines in the JR East area (Tohoku, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu, and Hokuriku), and purchases are limited to one adult ticket per transaction.
According to the company, 80% of passengers who purchase Shinkansen tickets at ticket vending machines do so on the day of travel, and half of those complete the process within a short window of just 20 minutes before departure. Since current ticket vending machines are complicated to operate and many users have expressed anxiety or dissatisfaction—particularly when passing multiple tickets through the ticket gates—the company is introducing these new machines on a trial basis.
Going forward, the company plans to proceed in stages with initiatives such as expanding the installation of these systems to other stations and increasing the coverage area based on the results of the pilot program, as well as streamlining the purchasing process for international visitors to Japan. The company also plans to leverage a common design system with the “JRE GO” web service, which is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2026.
© Source travel watch