Ueno Smoking Areas: Station, Ueno Park & Ameyoko (2026)

Ueno Smoking Areas: Station, Ueno Park & Ameyoko (2026)

Ueno is where many visitors to Tokyo start and end their trip — the Skyliner from Narita stops here, the museums fill Ueno Park, and the Ameyoko market runs down the tracks to Okachimachi. Taito City runs a network of official smoking spots across the area, and most are within a few minutes of the station.

Taito City’s smoking rules

Ueno and Asakusa are both in Taito City, which has its own rules — a little different from neighbouring wards:

• No smoking while walking or cycling, anywhere outdoors.
• No smoking outdoors from 7 to 9 a.m. on streets, in parks and in plazas — even standing still. The ward’s designated smoking spots below are the exception.
• Heated tobacco counts (IQOS, glo and the like).
• No fines, but patrolling officers will stop you and ask you to move to a smoking spot. Don’t drop butts: littering is banned too.

Official smoking spots around Ueno

The two you will use most are on the pedestrian decks outside JR Ueno Station — one at the Hirokoji exit, one at the Asakusa exit — open around the clock. In Ueno Park, head for the spot behind the police box at the park entrance or the one near the open-air stage. For Ameyoko, the Ameyoko Center Building has its own smoking area.

All of these spots are on the map below. The paspa and e-booth rooms are enclosed booths that close at weekends; on Saturdays and Sundays, use the station decks or the park.

FAQ

Where can I smoke at Ueno Station?
On the pedestrian decks outside the JR Hirokoji exit and the JR Asakusa exit. Both are ward-designated smoking spots, open 24 hours.

Can I smoke in Ueno Park?
Only at the designated spots — behind the police box at the entrance, near the outdoor stage, and beside the Masaoka Shiki baseball field (7:00–18:00). Not on the paths or by the museums, and nowhere outdoors between 7 and 9 a.m. except those spots.

Is there a smoking area at Ameyoko?
Yes — the Ameyoko Center Building has one, open 10:30–19:30 and closed on the third Wednesday of each month except December.

Is there a fine for smoking on the street in Ueno?
Taito City has no fine, but walking and cycling smoking are banned, outdoor smoking is banned from 7 to 9 a.m., and patrols will move you on.

More Tokyo smoking guides

Heading to Asakusa next? See our Asakusa & Senso-ji smoking guide. For the rest of the city, see Akihabara, Tokyo Station, the complete Tokyo guide, or find the nearest spot on the smoking area map.

Spots and hours: Taito City’s list of designated public smoking areas (open data, CC BY 4.0, as of August 18, 2026; ward smoking-area map). Rules: Taito City smoking rules. Hours change — check the sign on the day.