Japan Travel Service

Japan Travel Service Co., Ltd. (株式会社ジャパン・トラベル・サーヴィス) is a Japanese food-service company headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Despite its name, the company is not a travel agency; it operates restaurants — primarily stand-up soba and udon noodle shops — inside and immediately outside JR train stations across a corridor stretching from the Kanto region to the Kansai region. Its best-known operation is the kishimen (flat wheat noodle) chain 'Sumiyoshi' on the platforms of Nagoya Station, which the company has run since 1961. The company traces its origins to August 1949, when it began operating under commission from the Railway Welfare Association (鉄道弘済会) at Odawara, Atami, and Numazu stations on the Japanese National Railways (JNR) network, selling canned alcohol and draft beer. It was incorporated as a limited company in June 1951, and in June 1959 it ended its commission arrangement with the Railway Welfare Association and obtained direct operating approvals from the Tokyo, Shizuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, and Chiba railway administration bureaus. It reorganized into a stock company (kabushiki kaisha) in October 1979 and remains privately held with capital of 15 million yen. Today the company runs several restaurant brands: 'Sotei' (爽亭) for soba and udon, 'Sumiyoshi' (住よし) for kishimen, 'Ikoi' (憩) for noodles, 'Raamen Horaiken' (らぁめん豊来軒) for ramen, and café/coffee brands including PERK COFFEE, MARRON, COFFEE REST, Side Trip, and Café Shio-Koji, as well as the standing-bar-style 'Raku' (楽). Locations include Ikebukuro, Ueno, Ogikubo, Kokubunji, Noborito, Atami, Mishima, Nagoya, Chikusa, Toyohashi, Kyoto, Ibaraki (Osaka), and Akashi stations. The company also engages in beer and sake sales, amusement arcade and culture-center management, advertising agency work, and retail of food, cosmetics, and books to passengers. Japan Travel Service is a small, family-run style enterprise — its representative is Uozumi Ikuko (魚住 生子) — with a workforce organized around small teams of one to three people per store. Its corporate philosophy emphasizes providing consistent, familiar flavors and spaces close to people's daily lives through the food-service business.

Japan Travel Service began in August 1949 (Showa 24), when it started operations under commission from the Railway Welfare Association (鉄道弘済会) inside the premises of Odawara, Atami, and Numazu stations on the Japanese National Railways (JNR) network, selling canned alcohol and draft beer. In June 1951 (Showa 26), the business was incorporated as a limited company (有限会社ジャパントラベルサーヴィス) in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. In June 1959 (Showa 34), the company terminated its commission contract with the Railway Welfare Association and obtained independent approval to operate within station premises directly from the relevant railway administration bureaus; it subsequently received operating approvals from the Tokyo, Shizuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, and Chiba railway administration bureaus, a structure that continued after JNR privatization. In September 1964 (Showa 39), the head office was moved to Suginami, Tokyo. In February 1977 (Showa 52), capital was increased from 7.5 million yen to 15 million yen. In October 1979 (Showa 54), the limited company was reorganized into a stock company (株式会社). In December 1986 (Showa 61), the head office building was moved to Motohon-numa, Suginami, Tokyo. In June 2005 (Heisei 17), the headquarters was moved to Koenji-Minami, Suginami, Tokyo. In September 2015 (Heisei 27), the registered head office was established at the same Koenji-Minami address. The company began operating the kishimen shop on the platforms of Nagoya Station in 1961 (Showa 36), which remains one of its signature operations. As of July 1, 2022, the company operated soba and udon shops under the 'Sotei' brand at stations including Ikebukuro, Ueno, Ogikubo, Kokubunji, Noborito, Atami, and Mishima; kishimen shops under 'Sumiyoshi' at Nagoya and Chikusa stations; the 'Ikoi' noodle shop at Nagoya Station; the ramen shop 'Raamen Horaiken' at Toyohashi Station; and café/coffee brands PERK COFFEE, MARRON, COFFEE REST, and Side Trip at Kyoto, Nagoya, Mishima, Odawara, Ichikawa, and Takatsuki stations, among others. The Noborito Sotei store closed on March 10, 2025.

• Started operations under commission from the Railway Welfare Association at Odawara, Atami, and Numazu stations, selling canned alcohol and draft beer.

• Established as a limited company (有限会社ジャパントラベルサーヴィス) in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo.

• Ended commission contract with the Railway Welfare Association and obtained direct station operating approvals from railway administration bureaus.

• Began operating the kishimen shop on the platforms of Nagoya Station.

• Moved head office to Suginami, Tokyo.

• Increased capital from 7.5 million yen to 15 million yen.

• Reorganized from a limited company into a stock company (株式会社).

• Moved head office building to Motohon-numa, Suginami, Tokyo.

• Moved headquarters to Koenji-Minami, Suginami, Tokyo.

• Registered head office at Koenji-Minami, Suginami, Tokyo.

• Sotei Noborito store closed.

Operator of small, station-adjacent noodle and café restaurants offering consistent, familiar flavors to commuters and travelers.

• Sotei (爽亭) soba and udon

  Soba and udon shops at stations including Ikebukuro, Ueno, Ogikubo, Kokubunji, Noborito, Atami, and Mishima.

• Sumiyoshi (住よし) kishimen

  Kishimen shops on the platforms of Nagoya Station and at Chikusa Station.

• Ikoi (憩)

  Noodle shop at Nagoya Station conventional line platform 5/6.

• Raamen Horaiken (らぁめん豊来軒)

  Ramen shop inside Toyohashi Station.

• PERK COFFEE

  Coffee stand at Kyoto Station Shinkansen up platform, Nagoya Station Shinkansen up platform, and Mishima Station north exit.

• MARRON

  Café outside Odawara Station.

• COFFEE REST

  Coffee shop outside Ichikawa Station.

• Side Trip

  Café outside Takatsuki Station.

• Shio-Koji Café (塩小路カフェ)

  Obanzai and standing-bar style shop at Kyoto Station conventional line platform 0.

• Raku (楽)

  Obanzai and standing-bar style shop outside Akashi Station.

1. 1ジャパン・トラベル・サーヴィス｜きしめん住よし・駅そば爽亭・駅構内飲食店の運営jt-s.net
2. 2会社概要/沿革 | ジャパン・トラベル・サーヴィスjt-s.net
3. 3職場について | ジャパン・トラベル・サーヴィスjt-s.net
4. 4Japan Travel Service - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5ジャパン・トラベル・サーヴィス - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org