SMOKING IN JAPAN....problem?

[millefleur]

So I'll eventually be moving to Tokyo, Japan in a few months.

I've heard that Japan has a huge smoking problem. Is this true? I HATE SMOKING with a passion, and after living in 100% smoking ban States for my entire life, I'm wondering just how bad the smoking problem is in Japan. Do most restaurants and public spaces in Japan allow smoking?

I forced my Japanese boyfriend to quit smoking, which he now has been smoke free for almost two years! I just really hope the smoking isn't too out of control there. I remember being warned that Paris, France was horrible about smoking, but I found it totally manageable and about the same as NYC when it came to smokers.

I heard there were smoking bans being enforced in Japan, but I'm wonder how well that is going, since the country is notorious for being smoker-friendly.

Thanks, guys!

[let`s talk]

I never liked smokers but I didn`t hate them until I came to Japan. Here, in Japan, I started hating them. Because I can`t escape it. They are everywhere. And their stinky smell too. Almost all restaurants, except very fancy French ones, have smoking/non-smoking areas. They are not separated by the wall and the smell is going around. Only some coffee shops recently have a smoking area that is closed, it is a special room. All fast food restaurants, including Mac, have smoking areas. I recommend you to find places where non-smoking areas are separated from smoking by walls, doors or located on different floors.

[millefleur]

I never liked smokers but I didn`t hate them until I came to Japan. Here, in Japan, I started hating them. Because I can`t escape it. They are everywhere. And their stinky smell too. Almost all restaurants, except very fancy French ones, have smoking/non-smoking areas. They are not separated by the wall and the smell is going around. Only some coffee shops recently have a smoking area that is closed, it is a special room. All fast food restaurants, including Mac, have smoking areas. I recommend you to find places where non-smoking areas are separated from smoking by walss, doors or located on different floors.

Ugh, well, thanks for the heads up. I just want to know what to expect. I'm a health nut, so I hope most of the macrobiotic/vegan/health oriented places in Japan will have the smoking slightly under control. I'm more concerned about bookstores and libraries, which is where I'd probably spend most of my time.

I've been told the Japanese government is extremely corrupt (like most governments!), and that's one of the reasons for the smoking obsession in Japan...

[let`s talk]

Ugh, well, thanks for the heads up. I just want to know what to expect. I'm a health nut, so I hope most of the macrobiotic/vegan/health oriented places in Japan will have the smoking slightly under control. I'm more concerned about bookstores and libraries, which is where I'd probably spend most of my time.

I've been told the Japanese government is extremely corrupt (like most governments!), and that's one of the reasons for the smoking obsession in Japan...

Bookstores and libraries are no problem.

Yes, the government is corrupt. It controls Japan Tobacco and as the result it smells and stinks everywhere.

[Glenski]

It's not great here, but it has actually gotten better. Many places will have designated enclosed smoking areas, and even some places have banned smoking outdoors!

You will have to live with the fact that many people do smoke here. And, even if you ask for a non-smoking section in a restaurant, you may see the waiter/waitress simply remove the ash tray from your table.

[Smash]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HCdRk0o5yk

[Akuma]

many times it's unavoidable. and you'll certainly won't be able to go one day without inhaling some second hand smoke...
smoking stands are usually place so that non-smokers have to pass through them. in front of convenient stores, in front of grocery stores...etc.

there's actually a law against smoking in public in non-designated areas, but it's not enforced, just a make-feel-good law...welcome to japan!

[Kokuwakamusha]

I sometimes don't even need to smoke for hours
all i have to do is walk outside and inhale deeply for my nicotine fix

[alongdriver]

Yes, there are smoking areas that are sometimes separated by walls, but they usually have the ventilation system backwards. They blow the smoke out of the smoking area into the non-smoking area. Simply flipping the fan will turn it into a sucking fan that blows the smoke out the top of the restaurant instead of a blowing fan that pushes the smoke towards the non-smokers.

[iago]

If you're going anywhere by Shinkansen, try to avoid the "No Smoking" car that's next to the "Smoking" car. A lot of smokers don't like sitting in a smokey atmosphere, so they'll sit in "No Smoking" and wander to the smoking car when they crave a tab. Then they'll drag all the smell and fumes back with them when they return to their seat. It can be nasty, and there's nowhere to go...

[ben ali]

Ugh, well, thanks for the heads up. I just want to know what to expect. I'm a health nut, so I hope most of the macrobiotic/vegan/health oriented places in Japan will have the smoking slightly under control. I'm more concerned about bookstores and libraries, which is where I'd probably spend most of my time.

I've been told the Japanese government is extremely corrupt (like most governments!), and that's one of the reasons for the smoking obsession in Japan...

Who smokes in a library?

God, you people must be fun to hang out with .... let's ban anything slightly fun or risky, then we'll never die!

[Akuma]

Who smokes in a library?

God, you people must be fun to hang out with .... let's ban anything slightly fun or risky, then we'll never die!

you consider smoking "fun and risky"? do you perhaps work for a tobacco company?

[Marius_II]

you consider smoking "fun and risky"? do you perhaps work for a tobacco company?

Sex outside is fun and risky. Where do I work?

[Akuma]

Sex outside is fun and risky. Where do I work?

in roppongi...?

[iago]

Sex outside is fun and risky. Where do I work?

Fuji Safari Park?

[Marius_II]

Keep guessing

Back on smoking - I think someone on here put it great:

Japan is one of the very few countries where the rights of smokers outweighs the rights of nonsmokers.

[Scot27]

OP, I would advise you dont drink your coffee in dotour.

[Trichophyton-in-my-pants]

To put it frankly, if I had the choice between a smoke-scented salaryman and a Dior-scented 50yo hag sitting next to me in a train, I would have no trouble choosing over the first.

Actually, I would like to ban everything that doesn't smell like lemon.

[millefleur]

God, you people must be fun to hang out with .... let's ban anything slightly fun or risky, then we'll never die!

All other non-smoking drugs are fine by me. Your body, your life, but SMOKING infiltrates the clean air that we non-smokers have a right to breathe. That's the problem.

Smoking is just another product that fat cat politicians and big company owners are getting rich off of because people who get addicted to it and pump money into their pockets due to their own lack of will power.

[millefleur]

If you're going anywhere by Shinkansen, try to avoid the "No Smoking" car that's next to the "Smoking" car. A lot of smokers don't like sitting in a smokey atmosphere, so they'll sit in "No Smoking" and wander to the smoking car when they crave a tab. Then they'll drag all the smell and fumes back with them when they return to their seat. It can be nasty, and there's nowhere to go...

Thanks for the warning. I just don't get it, with Japan's cleanliness obsession, why the smoking addiction? Smoking is so messy and dirty, I simply don't understand what Japanese people see in it. Unless they all secret want to be the Marlboro man? Weirdly, the US has probably some of the best smoking laws in the world, but we make all the cigarettes!

[let`s talk]

with Japan's cleanliness obsession

LOL!!!! Surely you should visit the country and smell people here in crowded trains before to post such things. A regular typical salaryman/housewife washes his/her body maximum once (!) a day only.

[millefleur]

LOL!!!! Surely you should visit the country and smell people here in crowded trains before to post such things. A regular typical salaryman/housewife washes his/her body maximum once (!) a day only.

Interesting, would you say the States had better hygiene? And then, why, every time I read some "Learn About Japan's Culture" article do they state that cleanliness is a huge part of their culture when it's actually not? Bizarre.

[let`s talk]

Interesting, would you say the States had better hygiene?

No, I wouldn`t. I absolutely wouldn`t.

[Kokuwakamusha]

No, I wouldn`t. I absolutely wouldn`t.

First and only time I would agree with LT

[Trichophyton-in-my-pants]

LOL!!!! Surely you should visit the country and smell people here in crowded trains before to post such things. A regular typical salaryman/housewife washes his/her body maximum once (!) a day only.

Wait a second....

Am I the only one who finds this statement insane?

[Trichophyton-in-my-pants]

All other non-smoking drugs are fine by me. Your body, your life, but SMOKING infiltrates the clean air that we non-smokers have a right to breathe. That's the problem.

Smoking is just another product that fat cat politicians and big company owners are getting rich off of because people who get addicted to it and pump money into their pockets due to their own lack of will power.

Bikes and other non-combustion engine powered vehicles are fine by me. Your body, your life, but SUV infiltrates the clean air that we smokers have the right to filter through our tobacco. That's the problem.

Personal vehicles are just another product that fat cat politicians and company owners are getting rich off because people who get too fat to move pump money into their pockets due to their own lack of will power.

[impact501]

cigarettes are too cheap here, i smoke like a mofo

[kurogane]

cigarettes are too cheap here, i smoke like a mofo

Exactically.

I wouldn't worry too much, OP.

Cigggies in Japan are cheap and plentiful (some even come in flavours!!, and hexagonal shapes!! to lure young women into addiction), so unless you get stuck in some godforsaken craphole where there aren't any vending machines or tobacconist's, you should have no problem smoking at all.

I would be careful, though, about smoking while walking along crowded city streets. There are a raft of (likely) apocryphal tales of perfectly good cigarettes being run into and put out by some witless child's eyeball.

And cheap as they are, a cigarette worth lighting is a cigarette worth smoking to the last drop.

Unless you're smoking Wakaba's. Those things are a bona fide communist conspiracy.

[ben ali]

A non-smoking, macrobiotic, vegan?

You are going to HATE it here.

Don't tell us you are tea-total, too. You are, right.... you must be.

[well_bicyclically]

So I'll eventually be moving to Tokyo, Japan in a few months.

....

I heard there were smoking bans being enforced in Japan, but I'm wonder how well that is going, since the country is notorious for being smoker-friendly.

Thanks, guys!

Fear NOT!! The tobacco smoke in Japan is totally safe!! There are no such things as diseases related to second hand smoke! In fact, smoking is so safe, that young people are encouraged to start at an early age. Any public space is fine for smoking, too! The cigarettes in Japan are specially made to be bio-degradeable as well!! Just drop a cigarette butt on the street whenever you have finished with it and it will dissolve away into nothing within twenty-four hours! Tis Paradise! So, relax, and take a drag!

[let`s talk]

First and only time I would agree with LT

Do not give up. Life is beautiful.

Wait a second....

Am I the only one who finds this statement insane?

Of course some people like you think it is insane to wash body more than once a day.

So what? Have a "nice" smell.

[millefleur]

Bikes and other non-combustion engine powered vehicles are fine by me. Your body, your life, but SUV infiltrates the clean air that we smokers have the right to filter through our tobacco. That's the problem.

Personal vehicles are just another product that fat cat politicians and company owners are getting rich off because people who get too fat to move pump money into their pockets due to their own lack of will power.

I actually agree with that, even though I sense your sarcasm. There is truth in such seemingly ridiculous statements.

[Sterling]

http://www.smokefreejapan.com/

http://nosmoketokyo.tripod.com/restnew.html

http://www.smokefreeworld.com/japan.shtml

http://www.bento.com/r-nosm.html

http://smokefreestyle.seesaa.net/

http://www.chronicsite.com/nihon/restaurants.html

[millefleur]

A non-smoking, macrobiotic, vegan?

You are going to HATE it here.

Don't tell us you are tea-total, too. You are, right.... you must be.

No, I'm not actually. I just enjoy expensive, fine alcohol. Being frugal, I only seek it out for special occasions.

Here in the States, I am an alien in my own country because of my views and my tastes. I'm used to it. I've accepted the "eccentric" nature of my views. I feel like an outsider everywhere. The only place I felt a slight sense of home was France. So, if Japan in similar to New York City, then I'm used to all these things. Not a problem, it doesn't bother me, but I'm opinionated and I enjoy arguing!

I don't think I could hate it there anymore than I hate it here. It doesn't matter where I go, I'll never "fit it". Better to be a stranger in a strange land than a stranger in your homeland. Interestingly, my boyfriend felt that way about Japan. Even though he's 100% Japanese, he left the country because he was alienated by his own culture. I guess some of us will always be outsiders. To each his own, really. I have options to eventually find a place I know I can settle in, and I really only want to be in Japan for a year or two. That's fine by me. No place is perfect, that's for sure.

[millefleur]

http://www.smokefreejapan.com/

http://nosmoketokyo.tripod.com/restnew.html

http://www.smokefreeworld.com/japan.shtml

http://www.bento.com/r-nosm.html

http://smokefreestyle.seesaa.net/

http://www.chronicsite.com/nihon/restaurants.html

Thank you! I appreciate the help.

[millefleur]

Hey that's not bad; not overly acrimonious, humourous ( you got the gufffaw out of me) but still mildly acerbic. Yet, competely lacking in the mean-spirited responses found in the few troll denizens here who wallow in their own self-loathing.

Stick around Guy Lafluer, I like you.

Well, we all know politeness is a large aspect of Japanese culture, or shall I wait for someone else to reply, saying that that too is a misconceived stereotype?

[well_bicyclically]

Well, we all know politeness is a large aspect of Japanese culture, or shall I wait for someone else to reply, saying that that too is a misconceived stereotype?

FYI:
pretending that the other people around oneself do not exist is a larger aspect of Japanese culture... much, much larger...!

[millefleur]

FYI:
pretending that the other people around oneself do not exist is a larger aspect of Japanese culture... much, much larger...!

Haha, that's perhaps better than the "antagonize anyone who happens to be in your way" attitude of New York.

[Majestic]

I'm opinionated and I enjoy arguing!

I don't think I could hate it there anymore than I hate it here.

Brother Millefleur, I sense you are in for a very long and arduous ordeal here. You'd be surprised at the number of people for whom Japan starts to resemble the Mosquito Coast.

[Seattlegirl]

Fear NOT!! The tobacco smoke in Japan is totally safe!! There are no such things as diseases related to second hand smoke! In fact, smoking is so safe, that young people are encouraged to start at an early age. Any public space is fine for smoking, too! The cigarettes in Japan are specially made to be bio-degradeable as well!! Just drop a cigarette butt on the street whenever you have finished with it and it will dissolve away into nothing within twenty-four hours! Tis Paradise! So, relax, and take a drag!

HAHA! This is one of the best things I have read on GP the past couple of days. Nice.

And millefleur, well_bicyclically is being sarcastic but there is a note of truth here: The Japanese will pretend that Black is White if it works for them. Be prepared for it. I had students who swore that their doctors (who, it must be noted, all smoked as well!) told them them that they SHOULD smoke because it will relax them so it's good for them. I bet others here have heard that same line of bullsh!t. "We Japanese..." "All Japanese..." etc.

You will have to put up with the smoking. That's the bottom line.