Art Shobo
世界のたばこ アート書房
Tobacconist and bookshop in Seihonmachi, Gifu — rolling tobacco, cigars, pipes, little cigars, heated tobacco and Zippo lighters, with a free hand-rolling session every spring and autumn
Published
Photo: Art Shobo · @art_sekainotobacco
Photos provided by the shop owner, or taken from the shop's Instagram with the owner's permission — not Smok's own photography.
Art Shobo (アート書房) trades as 世界のたばこ (“tobacco of the world”) and is a tobacconist in Seihonmachi, Gifu, about five minutes by car from Gifu Station. It is also a bookshop: beside the tobacco counter it sells magazines, comics and general books, lottery tickets and scratch cards, and coffee beans. Its website and its Instagram, @art_sekainotobacco, both lead with the tobacco.
The tobacco side is broad. The shop’s website counts about 800 tobacco products, and its Instagram profile and Google text say more than 1,000 items counting smoking accessories. Hand-rolling is its centre — loose tobacco to blend from, papers, filters and hand rollers for beginners — followed by little cigars and dry cigars, premium cigars (the shop says Cuban ones are hard to get but its Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican ranges are large), pipes and pipe tobacco, Japanese and imported cigarettes, heated and oral tobacco, and Zippo lighters. Its website invites you to ask the manager, whom it calls a “tobacco concierge”, for advice, and says fast turnover keeps the stock fresh.
Every spring and autumn the shop holds a free hand-rolling session in its own car park, with staff from the tobacco makers on hand to show beginners how to roll and blend; the latest ran on 17 October 2026, and the next is planned for spring 2027. New arrivals, event dates and changes of hours are posted on its Instagram. The photos on this page are from that feed, and most date from December 2023 to January 2024.
Opening Hours
Hours shown in Japan Standard Time, as the shop announced them on Instagram: 10:00–21:00 every day, from 1 April 2026. Google’s listing and the shop’s own website still say 21:30 from Monday to Saturday, which was the closing time until then. The shop posts holiday hours separately — in August 2026 it closed at 20:30 from 11 to 16 August — so check its Instagram before a visit around Obon or New Year.
Good to Know
What to Look For
A red sign reading 世界のたばこ runs along the top of the building’s street front, above a glass front with vending machines on the pavement outside, as in the first photo above; the shop’s logo is a green leaf above 世界のたばこ アート書房. Google’s own name for the place is the bookshop half, アート書房.
Hand-Rolling Sessions
Free sessions in the shop’s car park every spring and autumn, from about 10:00 to 16:00 or 16:30, with staff from the tobacco makers explaining tools, papers and blends; beginners are welcome. The latest was on 17 October 2026 and the next is planned for spring 2027 — dates are announced on Instagram a few weeks ahead.
Smoking
Smok has no confirmed smoking spot at the shop. Some of the shop’s Instagram posts carry the hashtag 喫煙可能店 (“shop where smoking is possible”), but no post shows or describes a smoking area, so ask at the counter before lighting up.
Payment
Google’s listing marks the shop as cash only, with no card, e-money or QR payments. Smok has not confirmed this with the shop, so ask at the counter.
What's Sold
What the shop stocks, grouped by kind. Brands are those named in the shop's own Instagram posts from December 2023 to October 2026, or legible on its shelves in the photos above; the shop does not publish a full stock list and its range changes, so a given make may be out of stock or gone. Smok cannot say what is in today.
Rolling Tobacco — Amber Leaf, Choice, Mac Baren, Golden Virginia, Old Holborn, Camel, Flandria, Dora, Redfield, Rytua, Pepe, COLTS, Stanley, Ark Royal, Black Spider, Captain Black, Harvest, Che, Manitou, Brazilian Spirit, Amsterdamer, Pueblo, Lumber Jack
Pipes and Pipe Tobacco — Poul Winslow, BC, Silk Road, 飛鳥, 桃山
Cigars — Cohiba, Trinidad, Montecristo, Davidoff, Alec Bradley, Don Diego, Buena Vista Incognito, The Griffin’s
Little Cigars and Cigarillos — Cohiba Club, Toscanello, Peace Little Cigar, Cigarone, Villiger, Blackstone, Swisher Sweets, Essenze
Cigarettes — Peace, Seven Stars, Lucky Strike, Philip Morris, Parliament, Mevius, Winston, Camel, Bentley, Ark Royal, L.A., Black Devil, Che, Peel
Heated and Oral Tobacco — Ploom X, Ploom Aura, IQOS TEREA, glo hilo, H.O.T., Velo, Nordic Spirit, LUCY
Lighters and Accessories — Zippo lighters, cigar cutters, glass ashtrays, matches and hand rollers for rolling tobacco, as the shop shows them in its posts and photos.
Books, Lottery and Coffee — Magazines, comics and general books, with orders for titles it does not stock and delivery of books to nearby homes and businesses; lottery tickets, scratch cards and toto, including the seasonal Jumbo draws; and coffee beans from a roaster in Gifu, with advice for cafés that want to buy them wholesale — all as the shop describes them on its website and in its Google text.
Getting There
From Gifu Station
The shop’s Google description gives five minutes by car from JR Gifu Station, near Gifu City Tower 43, Gifu Municipal Hospital and the Gifu Prefectural Museum of Art; an older directory entry says about 1 km from the station towards the museum. Smok has not walked or timed it, and has not checked bus routes.
By Car
The shop has a car park of its own, where it holds its hand-rolling sessions. Smok does not know how many cars it takes or whether it is free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Art Shobo sell?
Rolling tobacco, papers, filters and hand rollers, pipes and pipe tobacco, cigars, little cigars and cigarillos, Japanese and imported cigarettes, heated and oral tobacco and Zippo lighters, as well as books, lottery tickets and coffee beans. The shop does not publish a full stock list, so check its Instagram, @art_sekainotobacco, for what is in now.
Where is Art Shobo?
In Seihonmachi, Gifu — 1-29 Seihonmachi, Gifu, 500-8351 — about five minutes by car from JR Gifu Station according to the shop’s Google description, near Gifu City Tower 43 and the Gifu Prefectural Museum of Art.
When is Art Shobo open?
From 10:00 to 21:00 every day, as the shop announced for 1 April 2026; Google’s listing and the shop’s website still show 21:30 from Monday to Saturday. Holiday hours, such as 20:30 closing during Obon 2026, are posted on its Instagram.
Does Art Shobo sell cigars?
Yes. Its posts show premium cigars from makers such as Cohiba, Trinidad, Montecristo, Davidoff, Alec Bradley, Don Diego and Buena Vista Incognito, and dry cigars such as Toscanello and Cohiba Club. The shop says Cuban cigars are hard to get but that it has a large range from Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Does Art Shobo sell rolling tobacco?
Yes — it is the shop’s speciality. Its shelves hold rolling tobacco from makes such as Amber Leaf, Choice, Mac Baren, Golden Virginia, Old Holborn, Camel, Flandria, Dora and Redfield, with papers, filters and hand rollers for beginners, and the manager will advise on blending. Smok cannot say which are in stock today.
Does Art Shobo sell pipes and pipe tobacco?
Yes — its posts show pipes by Poul Winslow of Denmark and BC, and pipe tobaccos including Silk Road and the Japanese blends 飛鳥 and 桃山. Ask at the counter what is in stock.
Does Art Shobo sell heated tobacco?
Yes — its posts show Ploom X and Ploom Aura, IQOS TEREA sticks, glo hilo and the organic heated-tobacco device H.O.T., along with oral tobacco such as Velo and Nordic Spirit. Ask at the counter which devices and sticks are in stock today.
Does Art Shobo hold hand-rolling sessions?
Yes — free sessions in its car park every spring and autumn, with staff from the tobacco makers; the latest was on 17 October 2026 and the next is planned for spring 2027. Dates are posted on its Instagram.
Is there anywhere to smoke at Art Shobo?
Smok has no confirmed smoking spot at the shop. Some of its Instagram posts carry the hashtag 喫煙可能店, but none shows or describes a smoking area — ask at the counter before lighting up.
Can I pay by card at Art Shobo?
Google’s listing marks the shop as cash only, with no card, e-money or QR payments; Smok has not confirmed this with the shop, so ask at the counter or phone 058-273-3880.
Map
Address
1-29 Seihonmachi, Gifu, Gifu 500-8351, Japan
〒500-8351 岐阜県岐阜市清本町1丁目29番地