Asakusa Smoking Areas: Senso-ji & Kaminarimon (2026)

Where to smoke in Asakusa — the four designated smoking spots inside Senso-ji’s grounds, SMOCO by Kaminarimon, Sumida Park and more, with hours and Taito City’s 7–9 a.m. rule.

Visitors at the main gate of Senso-ji temple in Asakusa

Asakusa Smoking Areas: Senso-ji & Kaminarimon (2026)

Asakusa is Tokyo’s old town: Kaminarimon, the Nakamise shopping street and Senso-ji, the city’s oldest temple. It is busy from morning to night, and Taito City’s rules apply here like the rest of the ward. The good news for smokers: Senso-ji itself has four designated smoking spots inside its grounds.

Look for the sign: 喫煙所 means a designated smoking area; 禁煙 means no smoking. See our Japanese warning & prohibition signs guide.

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.

Smoking at Senso-ji

Don’t smoke on Nakamise or in front of the main hall — use one of the four temple-ground spots, all open 24 hours:

① East of the Nisonbutsu, the two seated Buddha statues.
② North of the Kannon-mae police post in front of the main hall.
③ By the toilets on the north side of the grounds.
④ Beside the Hato Bus coach park, on the west side.

Official smoking spots around Asakusa

Spot	Where	Hours
Senso-ji ① — east of the Nisonbutsu 浅草寺境内 ①「二尊仏前」東	Temple grounds, east of the two seated Buddha statues	24 hours
Senso-ji ② — north of the Kannon-mae police post 浅草寺境内 ②「観音前警備派出所」北	Temple grounds, north of the police post in front of the main hall	24 hours
Senso-ji ③ — south of the north toilets 浅草寺境内 ③「北側トイレ」南	Temple grounds, by the north toilets	24 hours
Senso-ji ④ — west of the Hato Bus car park 浅草寺境内 ④「はとバス駐車場」西	Temple grounds, beside the Hato Bus coach park	24 hours
SMOKING & COFFEE BAR SMOCO SMOKING & COFFEE BAR SMOCO	Kaminarimon 2-19-11, steps from Kaminarimon	10:00–18:00
Sumida Park 隅田公園内	Hanakawado 1, by the Sumida River	7:00–19:00
7-Eleven Tawaramachi Ekimae セブン-イレブン田原町駅前店	Kotobuki 2-10-10, by Tawaramachi Station (ward-designated spot)	24 hours
Senzoku-dori shopping street 千束通り商店街公衆喫煙所	Asakusa 4-36-5	10:00–18:00 weekdays; closed weekends and holidays
Senzoku Park 千束公園内	Asakusa 4-24-7	7:00–19:30
Kinryū Park 金竜公園内	Nishi-Asakusa 3-25-7	7:00–19:00
Matsuba Park 松葉公園内	Matsugaya 1-12-6, towards Kappabashi	24 hours
Taito Riverside Sports Center 台東リバーサイドスポーツセンター体育館前	Imado 1, in front of the gym	24 hours

All of these spots are on the map below. Near Kaminarimon, SMOCO is a smoking café (10:00–18:00); by the river, Sumida Park has a spot open 7:00–19:00.

FAQ

Can you smoke at Senso-ji?
Yes, but only at the four designated spots inside the temple grounds. Smoking on Nakamise or elsewhere in the grounds is not allowed.

Where can I smoke near Kaminarimon?
The closest designated spots are SMOCO, a smoking café a short walk from the gate (10:00–18:00), and the Senso-ji grounds spots behind Nakamise.

Can I smoke outside in Asakusa in the morning?
Not between 7 and 9 a.m. — Taito City bans outdoor smoking then, except at designated spots like those in the Senso-ji grounds.

Is there a fine?
No fine in Taito City, but walking and cycling smoking are banned and patrols will ask you to use a smoking spot.

More Tokyo smoking guides

Walking on to Ueno? See our Ueno, Ueno Park & Ameyoko smoking guide. For more of Tokyo, try Akihabara, Ginza, the complete Tokyo guide, or 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.

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