15 July 2010 - I learned a new word:
Pachinko! All over Japan pachinko slot parlors can be found: businessmen, students and housewives sitting in front of vertical pinball-like machines. The game originated from Nagoya, and different from pinball there are no flippers and a larger number of small balls. The player only controls the speed in which the ball is released, but otherwise there is very little to do. Points are collected according to which holes the balls fall into, just like in pinball. It is illegal to win money in Japan, so you can win cigarettes, food, watches, calculators and the like. However, I read there are many places where you can change these prizes into cash, with police looking the other way. The pachinko parlors are a bit like hell on earth to me - noisy, bright, mind-numbing, but millions seems totally hooked, so it is just another example of Japanese life that is alien to me.
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