I loved JAPAN for so many reasons. One reason that will alway remain in my mind as a good memory of their culture is:
Japanese do not smoke so often!!!
If i had counted the people I see smoking everyday, I am sure it would have been less than the number I can find in less than an hour in Dubai; specially in colleges -unfortunately.
In Japan, people are not allowed to smoke in public or indoor places. Even outdoor, they are restricted to special places, so others will not be bothered.
This is Waseda University’s Campus: A Non Smoking Campus!
In big intersections, and some shopping centers or subway stations, there is a smoking area like these:
Worth to mention, the cities were so clean. Though there was no trash can on the streets, I did not find a single trash left on the ground. Next to each convenience stores or vending machine there is trashcan with separate places for cans, bottles, and plastics. So, no trash on the ground!
Radin 
I felt compelled to comment on this post because when I compared the MSU Dubai campus to Waseda University campus, one eye-catching difference stood out. In dubai, smoking is prohibited by law in indoor places. However, as soon as one ventures outside of covered places he enters clouds of smoke. Most of the smokers head outside of their work place and smoke with peers near entrances. This is similar in our campus, the environment is not entirely healthy, we become passive smokers since whenever we head outside we inhale all the smoke close to the doors.
Wow Radin, I must say, these pictures are great! I also saw these sections of non smoking areas and smoking areas in Japan. What surprises me is one McDonalds that I went to before we went to visit a temple had a “Smoking” area inside! I really hate the smell of cigarette smoke and it hurts my chest, so I was disturbed by the smell because the only open seat to sit and enjoy my meal was close to this section!Many places in the US are now adopting the non smoking facility, and an idea of having a smoking building as such I think is a good idea! Also, I saw plenty of recycling bins for cans,pet bottles, and trash etc at the convenient stores, but it was difficult finding a trash can most places! Yet, the streets were still very clean.