Smoking Areas at Odawara Station: 2026 Guide (the Environmental Beautification Priority District and the fine of up to 20,000 yen)

About this guide and disclaimer

This is a third-party guide compiled from the Odawara City official site (https://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/) — its page explaining the "Odawara City Ordinance for Creating a Clean City and a Good Living Environment" — and facility official guidance, reflecting the situation as of July 2026. The extent of the Environmental Beautification Priority District and the locations, counts and operating hours of smoking places may change without notice. When you actually go, always confirm the latest information on Odawara City and each facility's official guidance. This article does not encourage smoking; it assumes smoking only in designated places and observance of good manners.

The Odawara City ordinance for a clean city (a city-wide duty of effort)

Odawara City has the "Odawara City Ordinance for Creating a Clean City and a Good Living Environment." According to the city's official page, under this ordinance people throughout the city must make an effort not to smoke while walking or while riding a bicycle. In other words, anywhere in the city, smoking while walking or while cycling is something to refrain from. As for the date the ordinance came into force, we could not confirm it in the body of the city's official page, so this article does not assert it.

• Ordinance: Odawara City Ordinance for Creating a Clean City and a Good Living Environment
• City-wide: must make an effort not to smoke while walking or riding a bicycle
• Around Odawara Station: designated as an Environmental Beautification Priority District
• In the district: smoking is only allowed at smoking places where an ashtray is installed
• In the district: carrying a portable ashtray and stopping to smoke is also prohibited
• Violation in the district: a fine of up to 20,000 yen

The "Environmental Beautification Priority District" around Odawara Station — a fine of up to 20,000 yen

Odawara City's official page designates the area around Odawara Station, where foot traffic is especially heavy, as an "Environmental Beautification Priority District." In this district you cannot smoke anywhere except at smoking places where an ashtray is installed. The city clearly states that "in this district, carrying a portable ashtray and stopping to smoke is also prohibited," so note that this is not a rule where merely having a portable ashtray lets you smoke on the street. Violations are stated to carry a fine of up to 20,000 yen.

The word used here — "fine" (bakkin) — differs from the "administrative fine" (karyo, an administrative order penalty) used in many municipalities' street-smoking ordinances. Following the wording on Odawara City's official page, this article writes "a fine of up to 20,000 yen." For details of the amount and requirements, and for the exact boundary of the priority district, please check the materials published on the city's official page. This article does not assert the district boundary.

• Target area: around Odawara Station, where foot traffic is heavy (Environmental Beautification Priority District)
• Smoking is not allowed except at smoking places where an ashtray is installed
• Carrying a portable ashtray and stopping to smoke is also prohibited
• Violations carry a fine of up to 20,000 yen
• The exact extent of the district should be confirmed in Odawara City official materials

Where you can smoke: city-installed places and the "Ashtray Owner System"

According to Odawara City's official page, the places positioned as where you may smoke are those installed by the city, and those installed with the cooperation of shopping streets under the "Odawara City Ashtray Owner System." In other words, to smoke around the station you need to find and use one of these smoking places with an installed ashtray.

Note also that the city's official page states "smoking under the eaves in front of the Odawara Station west exit smoking area is prohibited, including e-cigarettes," which officially indicates both that a smoking area exists at the west exit and that the area under the eaves in front of it is not part of the smoking place. Even a semi-outdoor spot under eaves can fall outside the smoking place, so always smoke within the area that has an ashtray and signage. For the detailed locations, counts and operating hours of individual smoking places, please check the city official site and on-site signage. This article does not assert the location of smoking areas we cannot confirm.

Notes for Odawara Station premises and Shinkansen travel

Odawara Station is a Tokaido Shinkansen stop and a transport hub where the JR Tokaido Line, Odakyu Odawara Line, Izuhakone Railway Daiyuzan Line and Hakone Tozan Railway converge (between Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto, Odakyu trains run through). Under the revised Health Promotion Act (fully in force since 1 April 2020), indoor areas of stations are in principle non-smoking. Whether smoking areas exist inside Odawara Station or on its platforms depends on each railway operator, so this article does not assert it. To find out whether you can smoke inside the ticket gates, check station signage or ask station staff.

As for the Shinkansen, the onboard smoking rooms on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen were abolished on 16 March 2024, and all Shinkansen are now completely non-smoking on board. Heated tobacco cannot be used on board either. If you want to plan smoking breaks around a long journey, see the Shinkansen smoking rules guide as well.

Notes for Odawara Castle and sightseeing areas

For Odawara's sightseeing areas, including Odawara Castle Park, we could not confirm official primary information on whether individual smoking areas exist or where they are. This article does not assert the location of smoking areas we cannot confirm. Inside tourist facilities, check the facility's signage and notices for whether a smoking place exists. Parks and historic sites are visited by many families and school groups, so please refrain from smoking anywhere other than a smoking place with an ashtray and signage.

Also, the area around Odawara Station is an Environmental Beautification Priority District, so you cannot smoke while walking in the station-front and shopping-street areas that serve as the starting point for sightseeing. The same applies on the way to the castle park. Keep in mind, too, that city-wide you must make an effort not to smoke while walking or cycling.

If you are transferring towards Hakone

Odawara Station is also the gateway to Hakone sightseeing and a transfer point for the Hakone Tozan Railway and Hakone Tozan Bus. Even if you want to smoke during a transfer wait, you cannot smoke anywhere except at a smoking place with an installed ashtray. Stopping to smoke at a bus terminal or the station plaza is also prohibited within the priority district.

On the Hakone side the municipality is different, so the Odawara City ordinance does not apply. For smoking in the Hakone area, see the Hakone smoking guide. To settle where you can smoke at your accommodation first, see the guide to smoking rooms at hot-spring ryokan.

Heated tobacco and e-cigarettes

Odawara City's official page states that "smoking under the eaves in front of the Odawara Station west exit smoking area is prohibited, including e-cigarettes," which officially shows that, at least for that spot, e-cigarettes are treated as subject to the rules. We could not confirm on the body of the city's official page a comprehensive statement of how far heated tobacco and e-cigarettes are covered by the ordinance as a whole, so this article does not assert their treatment under the ordinance.

Since it cannot be confirmed, the safe approach is to use heated tobacco and e-cigarettes the same way as cigarettes: at a smoking place with an installed ashtray, or in a facility smoking room. Indoors, the revised Health Promotion Act provides transitional measures for heated tobacco, and some places have a "heated-tobacco-only smoking room" where eating and drinking are allowed — but whether you can actually use one should be confirmed from each facility's notices and signage.

Find smoking areas around Odawara Station with MottoSuitai

If you want to find smoking areas around Odawara Station, you can list nearby smoking areas from MottoSuitai's map. If you are heading to Hakone, see the Hakone smoking guide; and if you are taking the Shinkansen, see the Shinkansen smoking rules guide as well.

Before you go: always check official information

This third-party guide was compiled from the Odawara City official site's ordinance page and facility official guidance published as of July 2026. The extent of the Environmental Beautification Priority District, the locations and operating hours of smoking places, and the application of penalties may change. When you actually go, always confirm the latest information on the Odawara City official site (https://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/) and each facility's official guidance. Note that smoking by people under 20 is prohibited by law in Japan, and this includes heated tobacco and e-cigarettes.