Though 30% of the population are smokers compared to a lowly 18% in the states, smoking in public areas is beginning to be frowned upon.

Recent provision of 喫煙所 smoking areas gives smokers an area to obey "smoking manners". Many areas now prohibit smoking while walking in public most notably Akihabara, where you can receive a 5,000 yen fine for having a "lit cigarette". Strange how that term has entered the lexicon of "danger" words, you would think it was a "loaded gun".

Still, it makes sense in areas as condensely crowded as Akiba.

Banned smoking in restaurants, bars and cafes is still a long way away; Starbucks in Japan is one of the few countries left in the world where you can enjoy the age old combo classic of "a cup of joe and a smoke" without venturing to an outside ashtray.