A man was standing in the straight colonnade aisle, smoking a cigarette

I got off the Tozai Line at Takebashi and walked toward Jimbocho. Takebashi and Jimbocho are not that far apart. Along the way, there is a place called Hitotsubashi, which makes me feel a little bit historical. Hitotsubashi was the residence of the Hitotsubashi Tokugawa family, one of the three lords of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Walking along the street, I soon came to a magnificent entrance of the KKR Hotel Tokyo, which sounds a bit like a religious organization, but it is the Federation of National Public Service Personnel Aid Associations. The name KKR is a combination of "K" for National Public Service (Kokkakomuin), "K" for Mutual Aid Association (Kyosaikumiaikai), and "R" for Rengokai. How uncool. It's the same idea as NHK being the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nihon Hoso Kyokai) and DHC being the University Translation Center (Daigaku Honyaku Center).

I had just had a craving for a cigarette, and thinking that there must be a smoking area inside the hotel, I went inside. As usual, the entrance hall is non-smoking. I look like a guest and look for a smoking place. After a while, I found a sign indicating the location of the smoking area. It seemed that the place we were aiming for was at the back of the hotel.

The smoking area was located on the side of an aisle lined with pillars, and was only a few steps away from the hotel. As I approached the smoking area, I could see the first visitor. The man was standing between the pillars, blowing a cigarette.