Foreign tourists in a haze as Japan lacks info on smoking areas, fining system – The Mainichi

12 comments

1. Just quit the filthy habit.

2. Good. Don’t smoke. Clowns

3. They can smoke in the hotel where they are staying.

4. Just don’t smoke then

5. Dumb ass comments all around. Yeah smoking is bad, quitting is better, but that doesn’t change anything about the message that was in the link. I’ve seen quite a lot of foreigners just smoking in alleys, because there are no smoking areas they can find. Smokers are gonna smoke, accept it. Yeah it is bad, yeah it stinks, yeah blah blah blah YOU ARE RIGHT, but they are still gonna smoke at random places if they cannot find the smoking areas, and that is the current problem at hand. Saying “JuSt QuiT” is such a stupid take here.

6. The other thing you won’t find here in Japan is a garbage bin. I’ve got a bunch of glass bottles sitting here in my house because I can’t find a way to dispose of them

7. After reading what a drama it all is and how so many foreigners are getting fine etc. you get to the end and find out the fine is $7 or about the cost of one pack of cigarettes…

8. As a foreigner who just returned from Japan on their honeymoon (thank you for the amazing hospitality as well, your country is amazing!) It really wasn’t that hard to find designated smoking areas if you put the effort in.

   Both my partner and I vape, which while being slightly less gross than smoking, is still something that should only be done in the areas that it’s allowed.

   We would find smoking rooms in various cafes or shopping centres and use them, and on the odd occasion find the open air street smoking spots.

   There are also still a lot of smoking bars which we also used (shout to Record Bar 33 1/3rpm, absolutely amazing little vinyl bar in Shibuya). I don’t agree with the sentiment of “just stop smoking” but I do definitely agree it’s unacceptable for foreigners to be disrespecting the local laws and just smoking, albeit discreetly, in areas not meant for it.

   We really did want to make sure we were respecting the local laws and didn’t find it that difficult to do. However I would say, if there was something online or an app that would show you where smoking areas are, that could help alleviate the issue.

9. I once got stopped for smoking and when I turned the guard saw I had a pocket ashtray and he just said OH OK and went on about his day. You can still smoke respectfully in non designated areas in my opinion.

10. I think smokers visiting Japan should receive the full omotenashi treatment for the duration of their trip. Preferably in a detention center.

11. Downloading Papago is cheaper than a fine, lol.

12. The club JT map is a life saver for me and can be really helpful for big cities, but an English version would definitely help those who can’t read Japanese