A smoky nation

   One of the risks of line drying your laundry in Japan is that sometimes when you take it down, it smells like smoke. That's because people in the countryside love to burn little piles of weeds in their yards. I assume that's what they're doing, anyway. All I know is that I often see little fires burning in people's yards.

    Japan is also more liberal with smoking. There's a smoking section in every cafe and restuarant. And in bars or izakayas, the smoking section is usually just the whole bar. One exception is Starbucks, where smoking is banned inside, period. They post a polite little sign outside saying that they don't want the smoke to interfere with the enjoyment of coffee. Other exceptions are McDonald's and KFC. Notice a pattern?

    So often when I come home after I've eaten out or even just wandered around a city, I'll notice that my hair and clothes smell like smoke. 

    Sometimes I see these whacky posters which I guess are supposed to be part of an anti-smiking campaign. In the US, anti-smoking campaigns usually tell you about how you'll get lung cancer and die an ugly death, but the Japanese posters take a more subtle approach.

   I love how these posters always have perfect English. Clearly they hired a native speaker to translate them. I think I should have that job.
  
   If you want to see more of these hilarious posters, google "japan tobacco posters."