Are people allowed to smoke in an air-conditioned cafe/restaurant in a building? Just curious b'cos I was in a small restaurant at the Shinjuku train stn 2-days ago and sat next to a grp of guys who lighted their cigs after their dinner.

SMOKING IS NOT BANNED IN TOKYO.

Only some major parts around some major con jested areas of Shinjuku and some other stations are non smoking. There's a huge smoking section right outside the west gate of Shinjuku Station.

Those guys are retired people, if they see you smoking in a non smoking area, all they do is ask you to stop, move, and they carry with them a portable ashtray so you can put the cigarette out.

Some larger/chain restaurants wil have a non-smoking section, but in general, it's a free for all, especially at small mama-papa-san type of restaurants. A recent trend is "no smoking during lunch hour" as they want people to eat-and-make-room-for-the-next-person versus sitting around smoking and chatting. For non-smokers, lunch time is a joy.

According to the latest report, the percentage of male smokers have dropped to 39 percent. It was 55 percent 21 years ago. Women are at 10 percent.

One would think that if the MAJORITY of the people now don't smoke, why aren't the restaurants smoke free????

Guess it's hard to break old "habits"..........

Actually, a number of wards have banned outdoor smoking except in designated areas.

I believe Shinkuku, Shinagawa, Chuo, Chiyoda, Shibuya, and Minato wards have all introduced the ban.

This being Japan, smoking stations have thoughtfully been installed around the city at which smoking is acceptable. Two of the busiest are located on Omotesando, in front of the Aoyama crossing police box and Mizuho Bank.

Compliance is mostly voluntary, except for the stink eye you would get from walking around with a lit cigarette. The pesky guys you mention occasionally come out to shame recalcitrant smokers into submission.

Smoking indoors and a restaurants is acceptable and unfortunately very common. McDonald's permits smoking, for example, and many shops have become smoke stops for the addicted. Bars are smoker heaven, its almost a requirement. .

Thanks for the info.

<< Those guys are retired people, if they see you smoking in a non smoking area, all they do is ask you to stop, move, and they carry with them a portable ashtray so you can put the cigarette out. >>

I thought that they tended to look a little on the older side!

In Australia (or least my state), they have even banned smoking in pubs. Most pubs have a small outdoor area just for smokers. One of the problems is that more people stand out on the street to smoke. Smoking on the street is not banned (unfortunately). Dropping a cigarette on the street is considered littering and a $315 fine, but I've never seen anyone caught for it and people drop their cigarettes on the ground all the time. Most people at least butt it out with their shoe though.

Yeah, where I live indoor smoking has been banned in most pubs, restaurants and even offices.

Over the past 15 years I have noticed a huge number of places in Japan that have gone non-smoking. It's really nice these days to be able to find so many places to grab a meal in a non smoking establishment. However, even in places that advertise non-smoking areas, you can still find no-smoking signs at one table, but the next table over is a smoking table! Just the way it is. I just check things out carefully before I choose an unfamiliar place. It's taking a while, but there are changes happening slowly in the non-smoking campaign in Japan.

Interesting to hear about Tokyo. We run a fully smoke-free accommodation in Hokkaido, where smoking is particularly common. We often get inquiries from domestic guests asking where the smoking lounge is. They are often shocked when we tell them they have to go outside to smoke (especially in the winter.) I'm sure it costs us a lot of sales from the local market but it seems that international guests (especially families) appreciate being able to rent a room that nobody has ever smoked in.

In Japan it's perfectly logical to say that a table or room is non-smoking just because nobody is smoking in it right at this given moment. Doesn't matter how much smoke is blowing in from the surroundings or sunk into the carpets / curtains / furniture, as long as no smoke is originating from it! Only lately are we really starting to see smoking sections that are actually sealed off and have separate ventilation from the rest.

Two chains that have successfully brought international "smoke free" concepts into Japan are Starbucks and McDonalds ... but quite a shame to come all the way to Japan and have to hang around in such cultureless surroundings to escape smoke.

Well said.

Regarding Hokkaido, the same outdoor smoking "law" now applies. There are signs on the pavement of street corners letting you know it's not legal to smoke on the streets.

Regarding restaurants and cafes, some have non-smoking sections but not all. Even some of the larger local chain cafes have no designated sections. Most smaller establishments don't offer a segregated area.