9/16/09 12:48 PM
Coming from New York, where smoking is quite a common thing, I was shocked to see the amount of tobacco stores and vending machines in Japan. On my bicycle ride to school I pass three tobacco stores and even more vending machines. The pictures I took are both on my commuting route. The vending machine is one of two that are on my homestay street, and the store is right before entering the east gate to Kansai Gaidai
I really did not expect Japan to have a big smoking population since it has an image of being very clean, and even though I see so many tobacco stores I see hardly any cigarette butts on the floor. But after seeing so many, my early impression is that Japan has many smokers, even though I have yet to see a huge amount of people smoking on the streets and such. Not only are cigarette stores and machines everywhere, but compared to the seven dollar price back home, 300 to 400 yen seems ridiculously cheap.
When I went to Skylark (a chain restaurant) with my host family, I was shocked to see that more than half the restaurant was a designated smoking area. Later, I asked my host mother if it common for people to smoke in Japan and she told me that the amount of people is getting less and less because of new restrictions for smoking, such as no smoking in business buildings, or the smoking areas in restaurants. Still, this is a huge difference from what I am used to, since in New York in the past few years we went from having smoking areas in restaurants to not having any at all.
Now, whenever I am on my bicycle or simply walking, I am always on the lookout for people smoking and stores selling cigarettes... since I still wonder just how many people do smoke in Japan, and what kind of people choose to do so.
Smoking is cheaper in Japan because the government hasn't loaded it with the "sin tax" that we have in the States. However, the Japanese have come up with a pretty decent system for keeping the smoke away from people who don't consent to breathing it. The unspoken rule against "aruki tabako" is pretty nice, as well as having to walk to the end of the station platform if you want to light up.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great time to be in Japan - there are all sorts of social trends shifting and changing right now. Enjoy it!
Smoking makes for an interesting first impression. I feel as though the Japan today is the same as America was in the 1970s - everybody smokes, people are realizing how bad it is for your health and they want to quit. And maybe a few do...
ReplyDeleteSmoking is a huge problem in Japan, and as Joe notes, only recently has there been any kind of regulation. Actually cigarettes have increased in price a lot recently as well. The Japanese government is in an interesting position as it owns much of the tobacco industry in Japan.
You pose some interesting questions. Where do you think you can find the answers? (You might start by searching the VAOJ blog).
Keep up your observations - riding your bike around is a great way to cover a lot of ground and still be able to see small details.
Please add the creative commons to your blog layout.
I'm surprised that it is cheaper to smoke in Japan because most Japanese people think it is expensive to pay 300yen or 400yen for tabacco. We could buy cigarette 200yen or 250yen 7~8 years ago. Another reason why we think it expensive is tax. 60% of the cost is tax!(it includes 4 kinds of tax) Some people quite smoking for their health, but other people quite smoking because of the cost.
ReplyDeleteAs Joe said, the rule of smoking becomes strict recently in Japan. We must not smoke in taxi though it depends on prefectures.
I enjoyed reading your blog. I'm looking forward next one!:)
Thanks for the comments, and informing me about things that I was almost unaware about.
ReplyDelete@Joe: I noticed a few places in Tokyo where they had signs on the road saying "Please do not smoke while walking" as well. Maybe this unspoken rule is why I've seen almost no people smoking in public!
@Yuki: Wow, I can't believe 60% of it is tax, and the price is still so low! In New York there is tax as well, which is why the price is very very expensive. I have a few friends who have given up smoking because of the price, but if they came to Japan I'm sure they would pick it back up because the price is much cheaper! It's really interesting to see your viewpoint on the price since I couldn't imagine them being cheaper than they already are!