Since the last mention on Tokyo Times of the decidedly relaxed approach to smoking in Japan and the emphasis on manners more than anything else, things have actually changed. A little bit. Many restaurants, coffee shops, and fast-food eateries have actively embraced no-smoking areas, with some of them (well, I’ve seen one) even going smoke-free.
But thankfully this hasn’t stopped Japan Tobacco from continuing its (unintentionally) funny and often-unfathomable smoking manner campaign. And as the nation’s biggest cigarette manufacturer is partly owned by the government, this presumably isn’t about to change anytime soon either.
Yet I shouldn’t let such cynicism get in the way of the smoking related gems below. With the promotion of portable ashtrays being a particularly popular topic of late.
And then there’s this offering, which I’m guessing alludes to the same thing. Or there again, maybe not.
And the last one also seems to be along the same lines. But it is of such a surreal nature that I can’t be completely sure.
In fact you could argue it’s even Zen-like in its approach. The sound of one hand clapping however pales into insignificance when compared to the sound of children scolding adults with paintbrushes. A mystery that would surely challenge even the greatest of minds.
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The second one is funny…One more saw last summer:
http://img237.echo.cx/img237/7992/pict00458no.jpg
Is it just me or are these signs made with the gaijin in mind?
I was staying at a family-style inn just outside of Osaka, and on the inside of the community bathroom stall, they had the poster these all came from posted at eye-level while you sat on the toilet. There are a lot more where these came from.
Here is the gallery:
http://www.jti.co.jp/sstyle/manners/ad/change/gallery/index.html
I like it!
That last one really made me think.
I’m about to start writing a book about “smoking”. Browsing your blog@this hour gave me strentgh & inspiration for really writing this book. Thank you.
Miron Ghiu