Cigars

[sava 0]

Does anybody know if these are heaps cheaper in Japan like alcohol/cigarettes? Does anybody know where to get them online or in Tokyo ?

?

[damian 0]

check out ACANTA which is next to the Cerulean Hotel in Shibuya. Not that much more expensive than any other expensive cigar shop in an expensive city.

 

When I was last there I picked up a good Serie D. No. 4 Patagas Habana robusto. It kicks the pants of the Cohiba (that is if you are a robustos man). I was surprised to see them in stock.

 

here is a list of shops:

http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/405/feat/store.asp

 

The dude that gets around here a bit - Goemon - he's your man for Tokyo cigar expertise.

[sava 0]

BPC: thanks, how much was the partagas?

 

There's a store in Australia which has pretty good prices Series D No 4 for $US6.50 but the price for aussies is $AU16.48 - want to find somewhere with less tax

[damian 0]

More expensive in Japan. I would have paid about 2000yen for it, but really can't remember.

 

If you drill around on this site you can find some good info, and not all is in Japanese, infact much of the cigar text in Japan seems to be in English. If not, you can swing it really easy with katakana. Shiga-, robashita,

 

http://www.cigarjapan.com/

 

Cigar Japan forum

 

Happy smoking

[soubriquet 0]

"A woman is a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke". Yeah, don't mind a smoke myself. It's nice to live in the country; the local produce is so interesting, varied and fresh.

[Goemon 0]

I'm no expert, but you can find a range of underpriced cigars in the smaller mom-and-pop shops in Japan. For more luxurious surroundings and pretension around central tokyo, you might want to check Cigar Club or Le Connaisseur or Lafayette Cigar Room .

[Ocean11 0]

If you want to enjoy a cigar, say every Saturday night, without paying the same price as your meal, then I recommend RokokZone

 

The Ramayanas are pleasant. They don't compare in sophistication with something in the 3,000 yen range, but for when that is overkill, they'll do very nicely.

 

It should be noted that like coffee, Indonesia produces some very good tobacco at the best prices.

 

And if somebody chirps to me one more time "What are you celebrating hey!", they're going to get a hot stogie in the eye...

[merryJim 1]

Why do people who do not usually smoke cigarettes smoke cigars? Can someone explain that one?

[damian 0]

Not the case for me, but perhaps the same as enjoying a monthly glass of particular good quality alcoholic beverage yet seldom would that person get pissed on beer?

 

I do not smoke (for 2 years now) but enjoy a cigar very much. For me it is the enjoyment of taste and flavour. A cigar can be a wonderfully rich and earthy hand crafted delight for many of my senses: smell, taste , touch (a well kept cigar feels great!). I am addicted to good food, flavour, nice wine and what I call ‘textured experiences’. Cigars are part of that addiction. My use of ‘addiction’ here is not a reference to nicotine, that doesn’t even enter the picture. I confess that cigar smoke is not so good for the senses of the non-smoker.

 

A cigar need not be top quality, but I tend to smoke ‘better’ ones as the expense regulates my rate of consumption. I would not like to smoke one per week and if I discovered one of the many good value and enjoyable smokes available I might just slip into a bad habit.

 

My only ‘wanker’ cigar habit is to take the young graduate recruit in the team out once every now and then for a drink after work and a good cigar. I have bought him a few and now he enjoys looking one up and buying it for me. He is new to life in a big city and big company so quite likes the experience, as tossy as it is. The quiet cigar bar gives us a chance to talk informally and for him to ask more off the record questions of me, so in a sense it is a team facilitation event that is more enjoyable than yelling over bad music in a stinky crowded boozer.

 

I also smoke a pipe, but it is quite difficult to get good quality ‘boutique’ pipe tobaccos and I am not such a fan of most corner store varieties. I like a shop that makes their own blend and stocks them on shelves in glass jars. You can walk in, stuff some in your pipe and have a taste and talk smoke with the fella working behind the counter, perhaps buy a few grams of a blend you just tried. It is fun. Nothing warms an environment, rounds of an excellent meal and adds atmosphere to a room of friends than enjoying a quality aromatic pipe. The aroma is fantastic and it is a simple pleasure.

[Ocean11 0]

Smoking cigarettes is an addiction (and an affliction), whereas smoking cigars is a pleasure.

 

I smoked fags daily from 16 to 22 when I gave up due to constant debilitating colds. Apparently smoking causes your brain to grow nicotine receptors that allow you to enjoy it. If you can get past the addiction, which is more psychological than physical, then you can enjoy a good tobacco product when the mood takes you.

 

Smoking a cigar doesn't foul up the atmosphere and your clothes like cigarettes do (no paper and other non-aromatic additives perhaps?) It also doesn't cause tightness of the wind-pipe like cigarettes do.

 

I don't smoke cigars regularly, as I don't do much sitting around in the right sort of atmosphere, but when I do, a cigar is a delight.

 

Questions that rather annoy me:

What are you celebrating?

Is it a Cuban?

Can I have a puff?

Cigars are healthier, aren't they?

[Goemon 0]

I've never smoked one single (tobacco) cigarette in my life, but I enjoy the not-so-often cigar (for many of the reasons already listed above). I don't like to smoke cigars at homes or restaurants since it's inconsiderate to people around me; consequently, my intake is limited to outdoors settings, cigar bars or the (rare) homes of fellow cigar smokers.

[sava 0]

I've smoked one cigarette, yuck

horrible horrible and not for me