Waiting to get through the ticket gate at a busy train station can add time to your journey. But some passengers at two Japanese stations can now walk right through the gates without stopping. JR East has begun a trial of new ticket gates that use facial recognition technology. That means certain passengers can just walk through without showing their tickets or travel passes. The gates, which have been made by Panasonic, will be at Niigata and Nagaoka stations on the Joetsu Shinkansen until March 2026. About 500 people are taking part in the trial. All of them have travel passes that let them travel between those two stations on the Shinkansen. The passengers taking part have already had their photos taken, and the facial recognition gates will check their faces as they walk through. Panasonic said that people don't need to stop as they walk through — they can just walk at a normal speed. The company added that the gates could be really useful for people who are traveling with a lot of luggage or with children. If someone who isn't taking part in the trial tries to walk through a facial recognition gate, a red light will come on, and the person will hear a voice telling them to step back. Panasonic says its facial recognition technology has worked very well in past tests. JR East wants to use gates like these in more stations around the country. It plans to begin trials at some Tokyo stations in 2027.