Smoking Rules at Tsukiji Outer Market 2026: Chuo City Bans Street Smoking Outside Designated Places, and the Market Asks You to Use a Smoking Area

About this guide and disclaimer

This is a third-party guide compiled as of August 2026 from the Chuo City official site (https://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/) — its Chuo City tobacco rules page, the pages on its two ordinances, and its designated smoking place list updated 30 July 2026 — together with the Tsukiji Outer Market official site (https://www.tsukiji.or.jp/) and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare second-hand smoke portal (https://jyudokitsuen.mhlw.go.jp/). We do not assert whether any individual shop in the market permits smoking; check the signage at the entrance and the venue's own information. Locations, counts and hours of designated smoking places may change without notice, so always confirm the latest with Chuo City and the facility itself. Smoking under the age of 20 is prohibited by law in Japan, and this article does not encourage smoking.

Two Chuo City ordinances, one rule: not outside a designated place

Chuo City regulates outdoor smoking through a combination of two ordinances. The "Ordinance to Eliminate Smoking While Walking and Littering in Chuo City" (enacted 2004) bans smoking while walking and littering butts in public places, applying to roads, parks and plazas in the ward managed by the ward and relevant administrative bodies. The "Ordinance on the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Second-hand Smoke" (in force since 1 July 2020) then sets the rule that in public places you do not smoke outside a designated smoking place. Chuo City also states the rule that "even on private land, do not make people in a public place inhale tobacco smoke," and describes the scope as "all roads, parks and plazas across the ward."

• Ordinance to Eliminate Smoking While Walking and Littering in Chuo City (enacted 2004): bans smoking while walking and littering butts in public places
• Ordinance on the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Second-hand Smoke (in force since 1 July 2020): do not smoke outside a designated smoking place in public places across the ward
• Even on private land, do not make people in a public place inhale tobacco smoke
• Chuo City's tobacco rules include heated tobacco
• There is no administrative fine provision
• Where guidance and recommendations are not followed without valid reason, the stated measure is publication of the name
• Patrol staff circulate through the ward and issue reminders

The obvious misreading — "no fine, so it must be fine" — does not hold. Smoking outside a designated place still breaks the ward rule; only the enforcement design differs. It matters most when you cross a ward boundary. West of Tsukiji, past Ginza, Yurakucho and Marunouchi are in Chiyoda City, which sets no-street-smoking zones under its Living Environment Ordinance and states that a 2,000 yen fine applies to violations (source: Chiyoda City https://www.city.chiyoda.lg.jp/koho/machizukuri/sekatsu/jore/bika/index.html). East across the river toward Toyosu is Koto City, where the "Ordinance on the Prevention of Smoking While Walking in Koto City" (in force since 1 July 2009) bans smoking while walking across the whole ward, and ten station areas including Toyosu are designated priority no-smoking districts (source: Koto City https://www.city.koto.lg.jp/380301/machizukuri/sekatsu/undo/45122.html).

Chuo City designated smoking places in the Tsukiji area

Chuo City publishes its designated smoking place list on its official site. As of the 30 July 2026 update it lists 21 ward-run and 55 private places, and the Tsukiji area includes the following. Treat these as entries on the ward's list rather than as guaranteed facilities, and check the latest before you go.

• Ward-run: Tsukijigawa Park (Akashicho 10-2, 7:00–20:00)
• Ward-run: In front of Chuo City Hall (near Tsukiji 1-1, 7:00–19:00)
• Ward-run: Tsukijigawa Kamejibashi Park (near Tsukiji 1-6-1, 24 hours)
• Ward-run: Tsukijigawa Iwaibashi Park (near Tsukiji 1-11-13, 24 hours)
• Ward-run: Tsukijigawa Ginza Park (near Tsukiji 1-13-20, 24 hours)
• Ward-run: Tsukijigawa Chiyobashi Park, east and west (near Tsukiji 5-1-1, 24 hours)
• Private: Hotel Keihan Tsukiji Ginza Grande (Tsukiji 3-5-4, 7:30–17:00)
• Private: Tsukiroku smoking area (Tsukiji 6-21-8, Mon–Fri 7:00–19:00, Wed and Sat 7:00–15:00)

In practice, the ward-run parks along the Tsukijigawa — Kamejibashi, Iwaibashi, Ginza and Chiyobashi — are listed as open around the clock, which suits an area that starts moving well before dawn. Note also that the ward list includes FamilyMart Tsukiji Honganji-mae (Tsukiji 3-11-8, 3F) as a private designated smoking place but marks it as temporarily suspended for the time being from 1 April 2026. Operational changes like this are exactly why it is worth checking before you set out.

The market's own rule: smoke at the designated smoking area

Separately from the ordinances, Tsukiji Outer Market publishes its own etiquette. The eighth of its "eight points of etiquette" reads: "Smoke at the designated smoking area. Please do not smoke while walking or drop litter" (source: https://www.tsukiji.or.jp/). The outer market is a dense grid of narrow alleys lined with shops selling fresh fish, produce and dried goods. Smoking while walking there affects not only other visitors but the goods on display.

The market's official site does have a "smoking area" category in its shop directory, with one entry. However, that page still carries notices from the era of Japan's state-of-emergency declarations, so it may not be current, and this article does not state its location or hours. On site, check the signage and the "Platto Tsukiji" information centre alongside the Chuo City designated smoking place list. The market's etiquette also asks visitors not to eat while walking and notes that the hours before 9:00 are reserved as priority time for trade buyers — a reminder that stopping in the middle of a narrow alley at a busy hour is discouraged whatever you are doing.

Indoors: the revised Health Promotion Act, and heated tobacco

Indoor rules are set nationally. Since the revised Health Promotion Act came fully into force on 1 April 2020, facilities used by many people are non-smoking indoors in principle; where conditions are met, a facility may install a dedicated smoking room (smoking only, no eating or drinking), a heated-tobacco-only smoking room, a smoking-permitted room (a transitional measure for existing small eating and drinking establishments) or a smoking-purpose room, and any facility with smoking equipment must display the prescribed signage. People under 20 may not enter a smoking area at all (source: MHLW https://jyudokitsuen.mhlw.go.jp/point/). Chuo City's tobacco rules include heated tobacco, so IQOS, glo and Ploom cannot be used on the ward's roads, in parks or in plazas outside a designated place either. For the full picture, see our guide to the revised Health Promotion Act, and for visitors to Japan, the general guide for travellers.

Find smoking areas near Tsukiji with MottoSuitai

To find somewhere you can smoke around Tsukiji Outer Market, Tsukiji Hongwanji or Tsukiji-shijo Station, browse nearby smoking areas on MottoSuitai's smoking area map. For Ginza, under the same Chuo City rules, see the Ginza smoking guide; for Nihonbashi, see the Nihonbashi smoking guide; and for Toyosu, where Koto City rules apply, see the Toyosu and teamLab Planets guide.

Before you go: check the official information

This third-party guide reflects information published as of August 2026 on the Chuo City official site (including the designated smoking place list updated 30 July 2026), the Tsukiji Outer Market official site and the MHLW second-hand smoke portal. Locations, counts and hours may change. Always confirm the latest with Chuo City (https://www.city.chuo.lg.jp/) and each facility. If you do smoke, use an indoor smoking room or a designated smoking place, and always dispose of butts properly.