Originally Posted by
emma69
I am not finding this to be the case as I look for a ryokan - when I specified a non smoking room in my search conditions, virtually no no-smoking rooms showed up, high or low end - for example, Gora Kadan, a high end ryokan in Hakone only has smoking rooms, according to the Japanese website I have been looking on.
I'm not sure whether this is good or bad news for us... I suppose we'll wait to find out! I wonder if despite this, smoking a cigar might still be considered disrespectful?
Originally Posted by
joejones
Most of the ward governments in Tokyo specifically ban "smoking while walking" and/or smoking on public streets, the concept being that you can still smoke outdoors (e.g. in a park, on a balcony or rooftop, in a designated smoking zone) as long as your smoke doesn't interfere with traffic. This is the gist of the rule in Chiyoda, Minato, Shinjuku and a few other wards.
There is no such ban in most of Shibuya. I am not sure what the rule is around Shibuya Station, but I see a lot of smokers walking around Ebisu, Hiroo, Yoyogi, etc.
The outdoor smoking bans in Kyoto, Osaka and other cities are also generally limited to specific central areas which are indicated by signs.
Am I to understand that if in rural areas such as Ukyō-ku, Arashiyama, Sagano (natural settings, parks, forests, etc) it would be acceptable, so long as there are no crowds or large concentrations of people?
Civic regulations and legalities aside, would it be considered very bad mannered nonetheless?