An ink jet recording apparatus includes a controller that causes an image recording device, upon detecting an error with a recording sheet according to information acquired by an error information acquisition device, to suspend image recording on the recording sheet with which the error has been detected, and on another recording sheet being transported on an upstream side in a transport direction, of the recording sheet with which the error has been detected, and to perform a predetermined protective ejection including protecting an ink jet head of the image recording device, by ejecting a limited minute amount of ink from the ink jet head, at least onto a recording sheet transported subsequent to the recording sheet the image recording on which has been suspended.