A rather humorous but fairly common sight here in downtown Tokyo. The sign informs all the people in this park (80% of them smoking away) that there is ni smoking here. Several years ago, a number of districts in the downtown area passed ordniances making it illegal to smoke in public areas. It pas part of a big movement to reduce smoking and some behaviors associated with smokers.
Inparticular was the ban against smoking on the street. Many smokers in Japan are very polite and carry portable ashtrays in thier pockets, but a lot of them would just drop thier butts on the street or smoke while walking on crowded sidewalks. I once had a shirt sprinkled by hot ash by some jerk waving his cigarette wildly around while he was chatting away on his cellphone.
There are some areas set up as "smokers paradise" and they get heavily used. In fact, they get so smokey you don't even need to print your own cigarettes. Just walk in and breath deeply ;)
If you are a smoker visiting Tokyo, better keep the rules in mind and ask before you light up. But the bright side is Japanese stores have some very cool portable ashtrays you can get.
Do any of you smoke?
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