It was quite cold.
No matter what kind of vehicle of public transportation you might be waiting for, no matter HOW LONG you might have been waiting for it, normally that specific train or bus would always show up as soon as you´re done lighting your cigarette.
It ALWAYS happens.
so, as I was saying, it was sunday night, it was pretty cold and I was at Yawatashi station standing on the platform where trains going to Yodoyabashi direction stop.
And I kind of wanted a smoke just to accelerate the coming-home process. i would light my cigarette and the train would then be coming up in less than two minutes. Awesome. Too bad that normally it´s forbidden to smoke on platforms.
In this case I was lucky though.
I immediately spotted a man and his halo of smoke standying by one of these so called "smokers corners".
I rejoiced.
In Japan you can smoke basically everywhere when it comes to public places such as restaurants, izakaya, bars, clubs, karaoke and so on, but they are kind of strict with smoke-walking tendencies on the streets, or outdoor smoking in general.
You hardly notice anyone doing it, at least compared to the standards I was used to in Europe.
In Europe most of the country banned smoking in public places, but don´t really have a policy about oudoor smokers in high density city areas.
In Japan outdoor smokers would rather be allowed their mouthful of daily tobacco in areas specifically created for them.
In Tokyo, Shinjuku, on the way to the station, i was really impressed by what i´d call a "smoking oasis", where dozens of people would stop to inhale lungful of nicotine in front of the standing ashtrays, and then get back on their tracks.
It looked like a park from faraway, there were trees and benches and huge ashtrays stuffed with kilos of ash and cigarette butts and dressed up in colorful signs encouraging people to quit.
That reminds me of this picture: it´s Frikki, me and Kat in this totally absurd place that we called the smokers cage.
It´s one of the very first days in in Japan, in Hirakata, in Kansai Gaidai, classes have not even started yet, and we find this room in the library building, on the right side after you get in, where you are on display while smoking.
Everything -ashtray included- is so immaculate that it´s kind of hard to imagine that people would ACTUALLY go in that room for smoking.
It´s a really unpleasant claustrophobic feeling, we are extremely uncomfortable, but definitely fascinated.
Anyway, it´s still sunday night on the platform at Yawata station. I get close to the standing ashtray and light up my cigarette.
For some mysterious reason, no train approaches and I even have time for another cigarette.
Yes I´m a chain-smoker.
Than the weird signs on the ashtrays catch my eyes, and I even have time to take pictures of them before my train arrives.
I don´t have my digital camera with me so I take pictures with my keitai.
Two ashtrays, one pictures on each side of each ashtray.
They look like this:
Just out of curiosity, or, if you´re a smoker, out of pure masochism, you might wanna compare this video with
オーストラリア禁煙キャンペーンCM"eye"編 this is a link
オーストラリア禁煙キャンペーンCM"artery"編 this is a link
オーストラリア禁煙キャンペーンCM"tumor"編 this is a link
オーストラリア禁煙キャンペーンCM"stroke"編 this is a link
オーストラリア禁煙キャンペーンCM"tar"編 this is a link
オーストラリア禁煙キャンペーンCM"lung"編 this is a link
If you want to smoke: GO TO JAPAN
