Smoking Areas at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan & Tempozan: 2026 Guide (fully non-smoking inside, and designated smoking spots in Minato Ward)

About this guide and disclaimer

This is a third-party guide compiled from the rules page and floor guide on Kaiyukan's official site (https://www.kaiyukan.com/), and from Osaka City's official site (https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/) — its street-smoking guidance and smoking spot list — reflecting what was published as of July 2026. In-house rules and the location, hours and type of smoking spots may change without notice. This article is not affiliated with Kaiyukan, Tempozan Harbor Village or Osaka City, and is not an official guide. When you actually go, always confirm the latest information on each facility's official guidance and Osaka City's official pages. This article does not encourage smoking. Smoking by people under 20 is prohibited by law in Japan.

Kaiyukan is entirely non-smoking inside, including e-cigarettes (official)

The rules page on Kaiyukan's official site states, on smoking: "Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is entirely prohibited inside the aquarium. Please use the outdoor smoking space." What matters here is the explicit phrase "including e-cigarettes." The official position covers not only cigarettes but also e-cigarettes and heated devices, none of which may be used inside.

Source: Kaiyukan official, "Rules and manners".

Kaiyukan is laid out as a single route that descends slowly past the tanks, so a visit takes a fair amount of time from entry to exit. Since there is nowhere to smoke inside, the practical approach is to smoke before entering, or to use an outdoor smoking spot after leaving. Check the official site for whether and how re-entry is permitted.

Osaka City has banned street smoking city-wide since 27 January 2025 (1,000 yen fine)

Outdoors, a separate set of rules applies: the Osaka City ordinance. Osaka City amended its "Ordinance on the Prevention of Street Smoking in Osaka City" and expanded the street-smoking ban from the previous six designated districts to the entire city from 27 January 2025. According to Osaka City, the ban covers places managed by the city such as "roads, plazas, parks and other public places," and street smoking in these areas is subject to an administrative fine of 1,000 yen. Previously only "lit tobacco (so-called cigarettes)" was regulated, but the amendment added "heated tobacco."

Source: Osaka City, "We have expanded the area where street smoking is banned to the whole of Osaka City". For the city-wide rules and smoking spots in the main areas, see also the complete guide to smoking areas in Osaka.

• Official ordinance name: Ordinance on the Prevention of Street Smoking in Osaka City
• City-wide expansion in force from: Monday 27 January 2025
• Covered area: places managed by Osaka City such as "roads, plazas, parks and other public places" (city-wide)
• Fine: street smoking is subject to a 1,000 yen administrative fine
• Covered products: cigarettes, and heated tobacco added by the amendment

Tempozan is in Minato Ward, Osaka City, so this city-wide regulation applies directly. You cannot smoke while walking outdoors — on the plaza in front of Kaiyukan, the waterfront promenade, around the giant Ferris wheel, or on the pavement from Osakako subway station to Kaiyukan. Smoke at a spot listed on Osaka City's official list, or at a smoking corner provided by a facility.

Osaka City designated smoking spots in Minato Ward (on the official list)

The Minato Ward page of Osaka City's official "About places where smoking is possible in Osaka City" lists the following as Osaka City designated smoking spots. The key one for a Tempozan visit is the Kaiyukan Public Smoking Area, listed at 1-1-10 Kaigandori, Minato-ku, Osaka City — the same address as the aquarium.

• Kaiyukan Public Smoking Area: address 1-1-10 Kaigandori, Minato-ku, Osaka City, 1st floor / area 6.61 sq m / hours Monday to Sunday (including public holidays) 8:00–22:00 / outdoor open smoking area
• FamilyMart Chikko Store Smoking Area: address 1-14-24 Chikko, Minato-ku, Osaka City / area 2.34 sq m / hours Monday to Sunday (including public holidays) 6:00–19:00 / indoor smoking area
• Yahataya Park Smoking Area: address 3-1 Tanaka, Minato-ku, Osaka City (inside Yahataya Park) / area 8.7 sq m / hours Monday to Sunday (including public holidays) 7:00–20:00 / outdoor enclosed smoking area
• Osaka Bay Tower Public Smoking Area: address 1-2-2 Benten, Minato-ku, Osaka City / area 21.3 sq m / hours Monday to Sunday (including public holidays) 11:00–22:00 / indoor smoking area
• Kicona Ichioka Store Smoking Area: address 2-5-10 Ichioka, Minato-ku, Osaka City / area 6.26 sq m / hours Monday to Sunday (including public holidays) 10:00–22:40 / indoor smoking area

The Kaiyukan Public Smoking Area is classified as an "outdoor open smoking area" with hours listed as 8:00 to 22:00. If you arrive before the aquarium opens or after it closes, it may be outside those hours. The official list says "1st floor" but does not state which side of the building or which entrance it is near, so this article does not assert its exact position.

Osaka City publishes smoking spot maps by ward, which can be searched from your current location on a location-enabled device. Always check the latest locations and hours on Osaka City, "About places where smoking is possible in Osaka City".

The smoking corner at Tempozan Marketplace

For Tempozan Marketplace, the commercial complex next to Kaiyukan, the official floor guide states: "For smoking, please use the smoking corner located near the exit of the building." The floor map legend also shows a smoking corner icon, but the text gives no floor number or precise position. This article therefore does not assert which floor or where the smoking corner is.

Source: Tempozan Marketplace official, "Floor guide".

What this guidance does tell you is the operating principle: do not smoke inside the building — including the food court and restaurant floors — and use the smoking corner provided near the exit. On site, check the in-building signage or the information desk for where the smoking corner is. Smoking corners at commercial facilities follow the building's opening hours, so they are unavailable after closing.

The difference between "designated" and "information-provided" smoking spots

Osaka City's smoking spot list has two categories. Heading out without knowing the difference can leave you at a place that turns out to require you to be a paying customer. The city's official definitions are as follows.

• Osaka City designated smoking spot: a smoking area opened to the general public free of charge that anyone can use, meeting requirements set by Osaka City. Some are set up and operated by the city, others by private businesses
• Information-provided smoking spot: a place other than an Osaka City designated smoking spot where smoking is possible in compliance with relevant laws, set up in restaurants, commercial facilities and the like. In principle it is for customers of that shop or facility, so food, drink or purchases are required. It may also be unavailable at the operator's discretion

On the Minato Ward list, the five places above are classified as "Osaka City designated smoking spots." As an information-provided smoking spot, the list includes Holly's Café Cross City Bentencho (smoking permitted throughout the shop; for customers only; address 1-3-1 Benten, Minato-ku, Osaka City, Cross City Bentencho 3rd floor; area 43 sq m; hours Monday to Sunday including public holidays 7:30–22:00; indoor smoking area). Using that one requires being a customer of the shop.

Heated tobacco, e-cigarettes and the indoor rules

Inside Kaiyukan, as noted above, the official statement is explicit that the aquarium is "entirely non-smoking inside, including e-cigarettes." Outdoors, the amendment to the Osaka City ordinance added heated tobacco to what is regulated. "It produces no smoke, so the street is fine" is not correct: like cigarettes, it cannot be used on pavements or plazas. Use devices such as IQOS, glo and Ploom at an Osaka City designated smoking spot, or at a smoking corner or smoking room provided by a facility.

For indoor spaces generally, the revised Health Promotion Act came fully into force in April 2020, making all facilities used by many people non-smoking indoors in principle. In addition, in Osaka Prefecture, from April 2022 a prefectural ordinance made restaurants that employ staff non-smoking indoors in principle regardless of room size (as a duty of effort), and from April 2025 the customer seating area requirement for shops that may allow smoking changed from 100 sq m to 30 sq m (source: Osaka City, "Efforts to prevent second-hand smoke"). Expecting a smoking section at a restaurant in the Tempozan area is not realistic; planning around designated smoking spots is the reliable approach.

Kaiyukan and Tempozan Harbor Village draw many families, school groups and visitors from overseas. Consideration for second-hand smoke is not just a legal duty of effort but basic courtesy towards the people around you. Smoke only where it is permitted, and dispose of butts in the ashtrays provided.

Heading to Universal Studios Japan (the Captain Line)

The Tempozan area and the Universal Studios Japan side are connected by the Captain Line shuttle boat. Kaiyukan's official guidance describes it as "a very convenient shuttle boat connecting Kaiyukan and Universal City Port in about 10 minutes." We could not confirm any official statement on whether smoking is allowed on board, so this article does not assert either way. Check the operator's guidance before boarding.

Source: Kaiyukan official, "Captain Line (Universal City Port shuttle boat)". For the smoking rules on the USJ side, see the complete guide to smoking areas at Universal Studios Japan.

The boat trip takes a continuous block of time, so smoking before boarding, or checking where the smoking spots are after arriving, avoids wasted walking. Both sides are within Osaka City, so the city-wide street smoking ban applies at either end.

Find nearby smoking areas with MottoSuitai

If you want to find smoking areas around Kaiyukan, Tempozan or Osakako Station, you can list nearby ones from MottoSuitai's map. The rules across Osaka City and the smoking spots in its main areas are covered in the complete guide to smoking areas in Osaka, and the Minami side, popular with visitors, is covered in the Namba, Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi smoking guide. Both may be useful alongside this one.

Before you go: always check official information

This third-party guide was compiled from the rules page and floor guide on Kaiyukan's official site, and Osaka City's official street-smoking guidance and smoking spot list, as of July 2026. In-house rules and the location, hours and type of smoking spots may change. When you actually go, always confirm the latest information on the Kaiyukan official site (https://www.kaiyukan.com/) and the Osaka City official site (https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/) smoking spot list and ward maps.