A fun vacation can quickly turn into a mountain of paperwork and errands to make sure that you can get back home, but the cost will come with the stress of handling the whole situation. But don’t panic and stay calm. Here is a quick guide to help you get through the process to handle a case of a lost passport with confidence.
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01
File A Police Report
As soon as you notice that your passport is missing, head to the nearest police station or police box (called koban in Japanese). There may not always be an officer on duty and if this is the case, don’t fret but try calling 110 (equivalent of 911) for urgent matters, 03-3814-4151 for lost and found and for general information 03-3501-0110 (Japanese and English) or 03-3503-8484 (English and other foreign languages). They will file a “Lost Property Report” then issue a Certificate of Loss called ishitsu todokede juri shōmeisho (遺失届出受理証明書) which in many cases will cost between 300 to 400 yen. Having some coins or small cash will be a good idea.
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02
Apply For A New Passport
After getting the Certificate of Loss, contact the embassy or consulate of your country and ask about the rest of the procedures to have your passport re-issued. It is a must for travelers to carry a set of documents in different storages. These documents must include a copy of your passport, visa, airline tickets, and itinerary. As mentioned above, having these backup documents, even copies of the original documents, will speed up the process.
Here is a list of major embassies in Tokyo for reference.
Embassy of the United States, Tokyo
Address: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 107-8420
Phone: 03-3224- 5000
Nearest station: Tameike-Sannō Station
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Website: https://jp.usembassy.gov/
Embassy of Canada, Tokyo
Address: 7-3-38 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 107-0052
Phone: 03-5412-6200
Nearest station: Aoyama-itchōme Station
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Website: https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/japan-japon/index.aspx?lang=eng
British Embassy, Tokyo
Address: No 1 Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tōkyō-to 102-8381
Phone: 03-5211-1100
Nearest station: Hanzōmon Station
Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Website: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-tokyo
French Embassy, Tokyo
Address: 4-11-44 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 106-8514
Phone: 03-5798-6000
Nearest station: Hiroo Station
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Website:https://jp.ambafrance.org/-Francais-
Australian Embassy, Tokyo
Address: 2-1-14 Mita, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 108-8361
Phone: 03-5232-4111
Nearest station: Azabu-juban Station
Hours: 9:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Website:
https://japan.embassy.gov.au/tkyo/home.htmlHotel Asia Center of Japan
8-10-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo
Nest Hotel Tokyo Hanzomon
2-18 Hayabusacho, Chiyoda Tokyo
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