Pachinko

I got to check another thing off of my “Japan Goals” list! Pachinko! Do you know about pachinko? It’s basically the same idea as slot machines and gambling, but pachinko is unique to Japan. Actually gambling for cash is illegal in Japan. Pachinko sort of works its way through a loophole in a pretty sketchy manner, but for cultural and historical reasons, is not cracked down on. The government sort of turns a blind eye to it…probably because it brings in money. If you look at it from a less judgmental standpoint and appreciate it as a simple form of entertainment, then it can actually be pretty fun and not a big deal. Just don’t let it become a habit lol!

Two weekends ago I got to try pachinko for the first time after wanting to for years. I just hadn’t found anyone who understood how to do it and was willing to take me. Well it turns out that my boyfriend occasionally likes to go for fun, little did I know! I begged him to take me to which he happily obliged. Let me explain what it was like.

For those of you have never seen a pachinko parlor, basically they are pretty large buildings (some can be massive) that have all sorts of flashing lights, smoke, and loud music pouring out of them. When you walk inside, it’s super loud from all the music coming from each machine and pachinko balls clanking together. There are rows of machines that look similar to slot machines at first glance. Each machine has a theme. I wanted to play one that was based off of an anime. The machines vary in difficultly. There are little signs with fractions on them that say 1/89 or 1/200, for example. It stands for the probability of winning. 1/89 means you’ll win at least once in 89 times which is considered to be an easy machine. 1/200 is harder to win, but if you do, the payout is better.  I know you can choose more or less expensive machines too, but I wasn’t really sure how you could tell. I just know my boyfriend sat me down at one that was either 1 or 2 yen per pachinko ball, which is cheap. Basically the equivalent of penny slots in the U.S. Once you sit down, you put your money into the slot. At any time you can choose to cash out and get your remaining money if you want to quit or move to a different machine.

Pachinko machines.

I realize I keep saying “pachinko ball,” but I haven’t explained what they are. Pachinko machines are kind of similar to pinball machines in that you are flinging little silver balls up and trying them to bounce around into the correct holes. You don’t actually have much control of how the balls fall or where they go, just over how hard they get flung. At certain times there’s a big button in the center you can push that will have certain effects like starting a number roulette on the digital screen, for example. The screen tells you when you need to push it. The main point though is to get the balls in the hole. If you get balls in the whole, more balls will pour out into your tray enabling you to play longer. If you run out of balls, you either have to pay more money for more or it’s game over. If you win the number roulettes, then lots of ball come out, and your tray start filling up! If your tray gets too full, there’s a button to call the staff over, and they put an new empty tray down for you while stacking your full ones next to you on the floor. The high rollers have stacks and stacks of balls next to them.

The first machine I tried.

The balls come out here.

The balls fall into here when you start winning.

My winnings.

When I went, I put in ¥1,000 (about $10). For whatever reason (seriously I didn’t understand what I was doing), I started winning over and over again. Since I was on a cheap machine, I wasn’t winning a ton of money, but still. I ended up only spending ¥800 and getting ¥2,500 back in return plus a drink and cookie lol. I was so excited and had a blast! Shinya was pretty impressed although, as I explained, I didn’t feel like I was really in control, and it was all just chance.

Pachinko!

You may be wondering, “How did you win money if it’s illegal?” Well that’s where the sketchiness comes in. First, you have the staff dump all your balls into a machine that prints out a ticket with a number. You take that ticket to the prize room where the staff will hand you little gold items inside of plastic according to how much you won. Any leftover points that don’t add up to be enough for a gold piece can be used for snacks and other little prizes, in my case juice and a cookie. You then take the gold pieces to a tiny little hole in the wall hidden in a corner of the building. You set the gold things in the window and without any words, a hand reaches out, grabs it, and replaces it with cash. You take your cash and be on your merry way hahaha! Crazy right?! I was so very amused! I’m excited to go back and try again even though apparently it’s quite uncommon to win so easily like I did.

The hole. Lol!

This was the first part of a random date with my boyfriend. After that we had dinner at a robata-yaki place where you cook your food on a little grill at your table followed by a couple new bars. I had so much fun that night! I hope that gives you an idea of what pachinko like! Happy gambling!

Robata-yaki.

New bar. Chelsea.