My Experience With Japanese Pachinko

Japanese culture is either always associated with a tech-savvy crowd and anime fans. For people who have been to the heartlands of Japan, that is so much more to be discovered. Pachinko is one of the noisiest, hypnotic parts of Japanese gambling culture, which plays a heavy role in Japan’s economy, yet not a lot of people know about this. 

If you have ever been to Japan and seen those shockingly bright, shady-looking buildings with funky names and asked yourself wondered what they were, the Japanese gamble pachinko game is your answer. These pachinko halls are a key feature of Japanese cities. 

What Is Pachinko? 

It is a very old form of gambling. Whereas you need plenty of money to frequent these places, it will need and a lot of your time too. These games are entertaining and loud but move at a very slow pace. Previously, they used to be mechanically built. Small steel balls would vertically shoot up into a knob, activating drums like slot machines. Depending on the symbols of the drum or the screen, the player can reach, which is a win. 

The ultimate goal of a pachinko game is to match all three symbols. When this happens, the pachinko machines drop thousands of steel balls at the base of the machine. The player can empty the balls into the box under the machine. 

When a player wins, the machine plays songs, and the lamps on top of the machine start blinking. There are different types of symbols and videos like cartoon characters, animated women, that could start playing. If this has not surprised you enough already, know that women make up for a larger percentage of players in Pachinko halls. 

Is Pachinko Legal In Japan? 

This is a Gray area. Whereas some forms of gambling are legal in Japan, like bicycle racing, horse racing, or boat racing, pachinko is not exactly legal. But it is tolerated by the government because it generates huge income for the country. These businesses that run pachinko halls have been considered dirty for a long time and live on the edge of society. 

Many of the pachinko halls are not even owned by Japanese businessmen. Koreans make up for a large percent of pachinko hall owners. Sometimes, the police come down to the shops and check that the customers are not being cheated, but they are more interested in making sure the shopkeepers are not cheating the government of taxes. 

Nowadays, the old-timey metal balls and janky machines have changed into shiny new screens. Instead of actual physical drums, there are bright screens with animations or metal balls that signal you when you win. 

Irrespective of the public sentiment, this remains one of the most popular gambling places in Japan and is also often frequented by tourists. When the players win at pachinko, they collect their balls and exchange them at the counter for tokens. These tokens are then exchanged add boxes that could be situated blocks away from the actual shop. Foreigners and inexperienced players are suggested to listen to the directions and guidance of the locals carefully.