Yesterday I got schooled by an acquaintance of mine about the complexity of the Pachinko world. I remembered on our first week in Osaka my newly found friends and I head downtown to Namba and found this exciting but very noisy shop. We decided to venture in and find out what it is, since it was on the B1 of a building we were not able to see it from outside. We went in and what we found captured our full attention, we know this looks a bit like casino but have no Idea what it was just a handful of irritated Pachinko players starring back at 4 wide-eyed curious Pachinko palor firt timers. We just brush them off and even got a few balls to play thinking its some easy slot machine we can make quick buck from.
After that I forgot all about Pachinkos and never bothered to learn how it works. I had a lot of mis-perceptions about its functions and how to play and the pros and cons of Pachinko. Still I was always curious about how it works and when I look through the window and see people with a few buckets filled with silver pullet-like balls I assumed they are winning, which is not always the case.
Whenever I have an overseas first- time-to-tokyo visiting friends, Pachinko parlor is one thing they finish their roll of film on. They would go in and try to be as discreet as possible and while taking pictures. I always get embarrassed when I couldn't give them a detailed explanation on how Pachinkos work. Thanks to a friend who should get all the credit for this piece I was able to fully understand how these Pachinkos work and the pros and cons that might lead me to become a full time Pachinko professional player...why not!!
Pachinko is a Japanese gaming device, sort of a cross between a slot machine and pinball. The player is passive while playing, only controlling the initial speed of the ball. The player keeps firing the balls up into the machine and as it comes down there are different outlets, either it falls to the bottom and lost or go through certain pockets and you win more new balls as Jackpot.
These establishments are called " Pachinko Palors" which feature a lot of slot machines as well. Its not hard to find a Pachinko parlor, theres one within every 100 metres radius and they are brightly lit, noisy and most of the time with extravagant architectural designs. Inside these places its a nightmare for some, smoke filled rooms and if you are with any respiratory conditions, its wise to stay away.
The pachinko machine and regulations varies with each parlor but most of them conform to a similar play style. In order to play you have to buy the balls at the counter, these days some have prepaid cards where they use instead of money. It costs 4yen for 1 ball people rarely spend 1000yen at a Pachinko, for 1000yen one might last only a minute.
The win ratio is said to be set by the government however some parlors are believed to manipulate the system leaving customers coming back for more, usually on busy days. The parlors often change the settings than what is announced on their features. Another way to gain more money from the customers, apparently the law enforcers tolerate that as long as it was done out of business hours and not at the presence of customers. These parlors are not the only ones known to manipulate the machines but also the customers, they would try to disrupt the flow of the balls.
Since gambling is illegal in Japan, customers will take their win to the parlors gift shop and exchange it for cigarettes, house hold goods, brand goods, scooters, shopping vouchers at the nearby supermarket or tokens that you can exchange it for cash in another establishment. These little establishments are sometimes directly in front of the Parlors but as long as they are located in another building its not against the law. Players will exchanger their winning voucher for actual cash.
For some people pachinko is not about making money but a hobby, a very expensive hobby. For 5000yen one wouldn't last in the parlors for more than 30 minutes. Despite how expensive it can get, there are people who find this expensive hobby entertaining. While others like to collect old pachinko machines and fix them as their hobby.
Pachinko is considered semi-gamblingl in Japan however the law enforcers and the parties involved manage to come to an agreement which requires full co operation from the pachinko parlors making it safe for customers to enjoy inspite of what some of us might think. The Idea behind Yakuza and Pachinkos are not true, there might be some existing ones but that cannot be said for the rest of the pachinkos.
Pachinko is one of the things I want to experience before I leave Japan, It might cost me a fortune but I think its just like ticking off Tokyo Disney Land and Harajuku from your list. Pachinko is part of Japans contemporary culture and if in order to say you have experienced Japan.....add Pachinko to your list I know I will....just waiting for a 5000yen to fall from the sky.
These establishments are called " Pachinko Palors" which feature a lot of slot machines as well. Its not hard to find a Pachinko parlor, theres one within every 100 metres radius and they are brightly lit, noisy and most of the time with extravagant architectural designs. Inside these places its a nightmare for some, smoke filled rooms and if you are with any respiratory conditions, its wise to stay away.
The pachinko machine and regulations varies with each parlor but most of them conform to a similar play style. In order to play you have to buy the balls at the counter, these days some have prepaid cards where they use instead of money. It costs 4yen for 1 ball people rarely spend 1000yen at a Pachinko, for 1000yen one might last only a minute.
The win ratio is said to be set by the government however some parlors are believed to manipulate the system leaving customers coming back for more, usually on busy days. The parlors often change the settings than what is announced on their features. Another way to gain more money from the customers, apparently the law enforcers tolerate that as long as it was done out of business hours and not at the presence of customers. These parlors are not the only ones known to manipulate the machines but also the customers, they would try to disrupt the flow of the balls.
Since gambling is illegal in Japan, customers will take their win to the parlors gift shop and exchange it for cigarettes, house hold goods, brand goods, scooters, shopping vouchers at the nearby supermarket or tokens that you can exchange it for cash in another establishment. These little establishments are sometimes directly in front of the Parlors but as long as they are located in another building its not against the law. Players will exchanger their winning voucher for actual cash.
For some people pachinko is not about making money but a hobby, a very expensive hobby. For 5000yen one wouldn't last in the parlors for more than 30 minutes. Despite how expensive it can get, there are people who find this expensive hobby entertaining. While others like to collect old pachinko machines and fix them as their hobby.
Pachinko is considered semi-gamblingl in Japan however the law enforcers and the parties involved manage to come to an agreement which requires full co operation from the pachinko parlors making it safe for customers to enjoy inspite of what some of us might think. The Idea behind Yakuza and Pachinkos are not true, there might be some existing ones but that cannot be said for the rest of the pachinkos.
Pachinko is one of the things I want to experience before I leave Japan, It might cost me a fortune but I think its just like ticking off Tokyo Disney Land and Harajuku from your list. Pachinko is part of Japans contemporary culture and if in order to say you have experienced Japan.....add Pachinko to your list I know I will....just waiting for a 5000yen to fall from the sky.
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