Yes, you can smoke at Kobe Airport (UKB) — in six enclosed smoking rooms spread across Terminal 1 (domestic) and Terminal 2 (international), with rooms available both landside, before security, and airside, in the boarding lounges.
Terminal 1 (Domestic)
Kobe Airport’s official smoking-room page lists four rooms in Terminal 1, and marks a product restriction on only one of them:
- 1F Arrival Lobby West — landside, near the arrivals area
- 2F, east side of the departure lobby — landside, before security
- 2F, east side of the boarding lounge — airside, after security, and reserved for heated tobacco only (IQOS, glo, Ploom and similar devices)
- 2F Boarding Lounge West — airside, after security; the directory states no product restriction for this room
Terminal 2 (International)
Terminal 2 opened on 18 April 2025 as Kobe Airport’s first international terminal, currently running charter flights from Korean Air and STARLUX Airlines to South Korea and Taiwan under an interim charter arrangement, ahead of a scheduled move to scheduled service around 2030 under the Kansai region’s three-airport agreement. It has two smoking rooms: one on the 1F departure/arrival lobby, landside, and one inside the international boarding lounge on 1F, airside — so passengers on the new international routes can smoke after clearing security as well.
Heated Tobacco and Vaping
Kobe Airport’s own smoking-room directory marks one room — the Terminal 1 room on the east side of the 2F boarding lounge — for heated tobacco only, meaning devices such as IQOS, glo and Ploom rather than cigarettes. The directory does not state a product restriction for the other five rooms. It also does not set a separate rule for liquid e-cigarettes — use one of the designated rooms rather than vaping in the open terminal.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival Lobby West | Yes | T1, 1F, landside |
| East side of departure lobby | Yes | T1, 2F, landside |
| East side of boarding lounge | Yes | T1, 2F, airside; heated tobacco only |
| Boarding Lounge West | Yes | T1, 2F, airside; no product restriction stated |
| Departure/Arrival lobby | Yes | T2 (international terminal), 1F, landside |
| International Boarding Lounge | Yes | T2 (international terminal), 1F, airside |
| Vaping | — | No separate rule published; use the smoking rooms |
If you’re connecting through Kansai’s other airports, Osaka Itami Airport’s eleven enclosed smoking rooms across its North and South terminals cover its domestic gate concourse the same way.
For Japan airport smoking rules, heated-tobacco etiquette, and every other Japanese airport, see our Japan smoking guide.