Random J in Japan: Fear the Pachislo
Friday 10 July 2009 @ 4:06 pm | By Random J 8 Comments
Pachinko is the devil. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Pachinko parlors are found in every shopping district, on every corner, on every street. There’s no missing them. You can hear the ‘pleng, pleng, pleng’ of pachinko balls miles away, and I’m betting that the lights from the parlors are visible from outter space. The lights and the noise is loud when you’re out on the street. But it’s not until you drift near to the automatic doors and they open that everything just hits you like a sucker punch to the chest, a bitch slap to the face, and a kick to the back of the head. It will make you laugh, want to cry a little and give up a little of your soul in exchange for never being subjected to it again.
Only the brave wander into Pachinko parlors. Along with the addicted, the chain smoking and the jobless. Walking into a pachinko parlor will garner un-welcomed stares. The Pachinko veterans can sniff a newbie a mile away, and will take a minute out of their game to stare you and up an down and then shuffle their trays of balls closer to them as you walk past. You trust NO ONE in a pachinko parlor. Every body is the enemy. Aside from the Pachinko veterans, you also have to contend with the cacophony of noise that greets you when you walk into a parlor. I damn near went deaf. Whilst some look down on those that play pachinko, I applaud them. They should get medals for being able to deal with the noise, the smoke ridden air and the lights for hours on end. Although they’d probably trade the medal in for some more pachinko balls so they can get their ‘pleng-pleng-pleng’ on.
My advice to you: steer clear of the pachinko parlors. They are NOTHING like arcades and are not social hot spots. They’re everywhere enough for you to say you at least saw one, and perhaps took a picture of one, and that’s enough.
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Abraham 'Velcor' Duarte
David 'KidKobun' Bruno
Ivan 'Nahu' Lozano
Random J
Sol
I still wouldn’t mind dropping a few balls in it just to say I did it. Though, from what i’ve seen. Pure Evil
I’m planning on visiting Japan next summer. These posts will help me have a better first experience of the land of the rising sun.
Say, how much Japanese did you know when you embarked on this trip? I am trying to learn some Japanese before going there. Already learned the Hiragana and the Katakana, but Kanji.. oh the Kanji, how painful they are..
How much Japanese do you recon one should know before visiting said land(of the rising sun)?
So, is it true that you ‘don’t get money’ yet you can get money or how does it work?
So many questions and comments come to my head but i don’t know where to start.
Ah, here’s one: is there any “pachinko for kids”?
As far as I know, there’s no Pachinko for kids. I bloody well hope not!
As for ‘don’t get money, yet you can get money’ dealio: It’s illegal for Pachinko vouchers to be exchanged / sold for cash within the parlours. But nearby to many of them you’ll find little exchange shops / booths / centres and holes in the walls where vouchers can be exchanged for cash on the down-low, but not-so-down-low – because a lot of people do know about ‘em. Staff in parlours are NOT allowed to tell punters where these places are though.
It’s all a bit dodgy. But that’s Pachinko for you!
*pats back* It’s gonna be all right, man. It’s over now.
What exactly is the Pachislo?
‘Pachislo’ is the abbreviation of ‘Pachinko slot’.
What i don’t get, is how they made VIDEO GAMES based on it. Then again, i guess its similar to the ’slots’ games they release over here.
Like others have mentioned. I WOULD love to try it once just to say i did. I did the same with slot machines (and the casino for that matter, though i went through a crazy blackjack phase for awhile)