Japan’s Favorite Pastime: Pachinko
Originating in Japan, pachinko is a type of mechanical ball game resembling pinball. While pinball uses a larger ball, Pachinko uses small steel balls rented to players by pachinko parlors such as MARUHAN.
There are currently a wide variety of leisure activities in Japan. People spend their free time in any number of ways, refreshing, relaxing, or even studying for self-improvement. The leisure industry in Japan has undergone significant development in trying to meet these needs. Among these forms of leisure, pachinko falls in the same category as video games, karaoke, lottery, dining out, and bicycle or horse races.
Over the last six decades, pachinko has become an integral part of Japanese culture and Japanese leisure. With approximately nine million players in 2016, pachinko is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Japan. The ¥21 trillion JPY pachinko industry employs over 240,000 people and accounts for nearly a third of Japan’s entertainment and leisure market. In other words, pachinko is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Japan.
The pachinko industry in Japan is, however, highly fragmented, with over 3,400 different operators. Parlors have various kinds of pachinko machines, letting customers select a machine according to their preferences or the day’s mood. There are a large number of small operators and a smaller number of large operators, of which MARUHAN is the largest.
The pachinko industry is closely supervised by the Japanese government and other regulatory authorities. Rules and regulations are regularly introduced to control operations and a clear distinction between pachinko and gambling, which is prohibited by Japanese law. Strict rules outlined in the Amusement Business Law govern the licensing of pachinko hall operators, payout ratios, and technical specifications of the machines. MARUHAN conforms to all regulations in every respect and, for this reason, is recognized as an industry leader.
I suppose a better look would be inside, but this is as close as I will go to these places. Inside is so loud as to make your ears ring like the loudest rock concert. I’d rather keep my hearing, thanks. What am I talking about? Those who are familiar with Japan can probably instantly tell by the ugly building. It’s pachiko!
The landscape of Japan is unfortunately dotted with these ugly buildings, especially smaller towns which may be only farms and pachinko. Pachinko is a kind of vertical pinball, but unlike pinball there is little to no skill involved. Small metal palls launch up into the playing field and fall down, bouncing off pins into various gates. Depending on the gates the balls fall into, you win… more balls! At the end of the play session, these balls can be traded for various prizes. Prizes which can then often be sold for money if one knows where to sell them.파칭코
Yes, that makes it gambling. Pachinko may be the most popular form of gambling in the country today, maybe even the most popular recreational activity. Ask any blue collar worker in Japan what the are doing after work and the answer will almost certainly be pachinko. It’s not as popular with white collar workers, but only because they never leave the office. When they do, however, many of them enjoy some pachinko action too. It’s also surprisingly popular among housewives, similar to the image we may have of the middle-aged women sitting at a slot machine in Vegas with her tub of quarters.