Smoking Areas in Akihabara: 2026 Guide (Chiyoda City bans street smoking ward-wide, 2,000 yen fine / free ward-run and private smoking areas)

About this guide and disclaimer

This is a third-party guide compiled from the Chiyoda City official site (https://www.city.chiyoda.lg.jp/) — its free public smoking area guidance, its living environment ordinance page and the ordinance outline page, and the ward press release on fine collection for heated tobacco — reflecting the situation as of July 2026. The locations, counts and operating hours of smoking areas may change without notice. When you actually go, always confirm the latest information on Chiyoda City and each facility's official guidance. Smoking under the age of 20 is prohibited by law in Japan.

Chiyoda City had Japan's first street-smoking ordinance with penalties — a 2,000 yen fine ward-wide

The first thing to know when looking for a place to smoke in Akihabara is that the district sits in the ward that introduced penalties for street smoking earliest in Japan. Chiyoda City put its "Ordinance on Development of a Safe and Comfortable Living Environment in Chiyoda City" (commonly the Chiyoda living environment ordinance) into effect on 1 October 2002, and from 1 November of the same year began applying fines to smoking in no-street-smoking zones. It was the first ordinance in Japan to attach penalties to street smoking. At first the no-street-smoking zone covered only part of the ward, but from 1 April 2010 it was expanded to all of Chiyoda City. In other words, anywhere in the ward — including Akihabara, Kanda and Iwamotocho — smoking on the road is subject to a fine.

• The ordinance's formal name is the "Ordinance on Development of a Safe and Comfortable Living Environment in Chiyoda City" (Chiyoda City Ordinance No. 53 of 2002)
• In effect from 1 October 2002, with penalties applied from 1 November of the same year — the first ordinance in Japan to attach penalties to street smoking
• From 1 April 2010 the no-street-smoking zone was expanded to all of Chiyoda City
• Smoking on roads and in the "designated parks" set by the ordinance draws a 2,000 yen fine (up to 20,000 yen under the ordinance)
• Heated tobacco has also been subject to fine collection since 1 November 2024
• Smoke at a free public smoking area listed by the ward, or in an indoor smoking room

Assuming "they will just warn me" is risky. Chiyoda City publishes the number of fines imposed on its official site, which shows the ordinance is actually enforced. Akihabara draws many tourists and shoppers walking around Electric Town, which makes smoking while walking easy to slip into, but smoking on the road is subject to a fine without exception. When you want to smoke, always walk to a smoking area first.

Three ward-run free smoking areas around Akihabara Station

Chiyoda City publishes a list of free public smoking areas in the ward on its official site. On the list as of the 21 May 2026 update, the ward-run smoking areas (set up and operated by the ward) in the Akihabara Station area are the following three. Being ward-run, they are free to use and within walking distance of the station.

• Horin Park smoking area (ward-run, Sotokanda 3-5-18, 7:00–19:00)
• Oasis@akiba (ward-run, Kanda-Hanaokacho 1, 7:00–22:00)
• Akihabara Showa-dori Exit smoking area (ward-run, Kanda-Hirakawacho, 24 hours)

In practical terms, the Akihabara Showa-dori Exit smoking area is convenient because it is available 24 hours. If you are in Akihabara early in the morning or late at night, making that your first point of reference is the safest bet. The Horin Park smoking area (7:00–19:00) and Oasis@akiba (7:00–22:00), by contrast, have set hours, so heading there late in the evening may find them closed. Note that we found a reference to ward guidance regarding use of the heated-tobacco-only area at Oasis@akiba, but could not pin down the details of that arrangement in primary information, so this article does not assert its usage conditions. Please check the latest conditions on Chiyoda City official guidance before you go.

Private free smoking areas around Akihabara and Iwamotocho (listed by Chiyoda City)

Chiyoda City's free smoking area list includes not only ward-run smoking areas but also facilities set up by private operators that the ward lists as free smoking areas. As of the 21 May 2026 update, 13 facilities in total are listed for the Akihabara Station area, and the main ones whose name, address and hours can be confirmed on the list are as follows. They are spread across both the Electric Town side (Sotokanda) and the Showa-dori side (Kanda-Sakumacho, Kanda-Izumicho, Kanda-Sudacho).

• paspa Akihabara Kokashita (Sotokanda 1-4-11, 7:00–24:00)
• Smoking Place Kikura Shokuhin (Sotokanda 1-3-9, 8:30–20:00, closed Wednesdays)
• Mimatsu Tabako (Kanda-Sakumacho 1-7-3, 8:00–20:00)
• paspa Kanda-Sakumacho (Kanda-Sakumacho 3-32, 7:00–20:00, weekdays only)
• Smoking Space Sandy Bell (Kanda-Izumicho 1-5-1, 7:00–19:00, closed Sundays and public holidays)
• Smoking Space SHIOTANI (Kanda-Izumicho 1-12-1, 7:30–20:30)
• IPPUKU Akihabara (Kanda-Sudacho 2-6-15, 1F, 9:00–19:00, weekdays only)
• IPPUKU Akihabara Branch 2 (Kanda-Sudacho 2-6-15, Kanda Iris Building 2F, 9:00–19:00, weekdays only)

If you want somewhere close to the heart of Electric Town, paspa Akihabara Kokashita at Sotokanda 1-4-11 keeps long hours at 7:00–24:00, making it easy to fit into a day out. If you head toward Iwamotocho or Higashi-Kanda, THE TOBACCO IWAMOTOCHO (Iwamotocho 3-5-14, 7:00–19:00, weekdays only) and paspa Higashi-Kanda (Higashi-Kanda 1-11-5, 7:00–20:00, weekdays only), which Chiyoda City classifies under the Kanda Station area, are also options. Many of these are weekdays-only, so if you visit on a weekend or public holiday, check the opening days in advance.

Horin Park and Akihabara Park are "designated parks" — smoking inside the park is subject to the fine

Parks are easy to overlook. Under the Chiyoda living environment ordinance, not only roads but also the "designated parks" set by the ward count as public places where smoking draws the 2,000 yen fine. The ward publishes 37 designated parks in total, and two of them are near Akihabara.

• Akihabara Park (Kanda-Sakumacho 1-18, designated 1 June 2014)
• Horin Park (Sotokanda 3-5-18, designated 1 April 2018)

Horin Park needs particular care. It is a designated park, so smoking inside the park is subject to the fine — yet the ward-run "Horin Park smoking area" is located at the same address (Sotokanda 3-5-18). In other words, it is not that "you can smoke anywhere in the park," but that "you can smoke only at the smoking area set up inside the park." Lighting up on a bench or a path could breach the ordinance. When you arrive, check the smoking area's marked-off space (enclosure and signage) and smoke inside it. We could not confirm a ward-run smoking area listed for Akihabara Park, so avoid smoking inside that park and walk to one of the smoking areas described above.

In-facility smoking rooms such as Yodobashi Akiba and Akihabara UDX

Akihabara has a concentration of large commercial buildings and office towers including Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Akiba, Akihabara UDX and atre Akihabara. We could not confirm official primary information from the facilities' own sites on whether they have smoking rooms and, if so, on which floor and from what hours. This article does not assert the existence, location or hours of smoking rooms we cannot confirm. If you want to use a smoking room at these facilities, always check each facility's official site or in-building signage for the latest information. To smoke outdoors, use the Chiyoda City free smoking areas described above. Note that under the revised Health Promotion Act, fully in force since April 2020, indoor spaces including commercial facilities and restaurants are non-smoking in principle, and smoking requires a dedicated smoking room meeting the standards.

Heated tobacco and e-cigarettes (subject to the fine since 1 November 2024)

One thing visitors to Akihabara should know in particular is how heated tobacco is treated. From 1 November 2024, Chiyoda City began collecting the 2,000 yen fine from street smokers of heated tobacco as well. The ward announced the change in a press release distributed on 1 October 2024, and both cigarettes and heated tobacco are now covered by the ordinance. The idea that "it barely produces smoke, so the street is fine" does not hold. For heated tobacco such as IQOS, glo and Ploom, and for e-cigarettes too, use a smoking room indoors and a Chiyoda City free smoking area outdoors. As a matter of second-hand smoke prevention as well, please stick strictly to designated places.

Find nearby smoking areas with MottoSuitai

If you want to find smoking areas around Akihabara, Electric Town or Iwamotocho, you can list nearby smoking areas from MottoSuitai's map. For a list of smoking areas in the Akihabara area, see smoking areas in the Akihabara area. For a ward-by-ward rule comparison that also covers Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro, see the guide to smoking areas around major Tokyo stations, and for the Marunouchi and Yurakucho areas under the same Chiyoda City rules, see the Tokyo International Forum, Yurakucho and Marunouchi smoking guide.

Before you go: always check official information

This third-party guide was compiled from the Chiyoda City official site's free smoking area list (updated 21 May 2026), its living environment ordinance and ordinance outline pages, and its press release on heated tobacco, as published as of July 2026. The locations, counts and operating hours of smoking areas, and which parks are designated, may change. When you actually go, always confirm the latest information on the Chiyoda City official site (https://www.city.chiyoda.lg.jp/) free smoking area list and each facility's official guidance.