![](https://blogimg.goo.ne.jp/user_image/66/31/0360a3d26edb4900956ebb17e9f056f2.jpg)
I went out to Izumi-chuo Station on the Sotetsu Line to apply for National Health Insurance.
It was very helpful that the ward office is open on Saturday mornings twice a month.
There was one more thing that helped me. There are no smoking areas at all around Izumino Station, one stop before Yokohama, but there were many around Izumi-chuo Station.
![](https://blogimg.goo.ne.jp/user_image/55/54/d6ae2a702c5f8d59a5a92fa290414305.jpg)
There was a round ashtray at Family Mart right outside the station, and there were always smoking areas in front of other convenience stores.
It is very strange why the smoking environment is so different even though the stations are located next to each other. I also saw for the first time a "Calorie Mate vending machine" attached to the side of a beverage vending machine on the platform of Izumi-chuo Station.