This game has been called Japan's national pastime, a popular leisure activity played by as many as 50 million people in Japan. Pachinko parlors are characterized by bright neon signs, harsh lights, and military-style marching music, in which players have the opportunity to win prizes. Origin and Play Pachinko is based on an early 20th century American pinball game called Corinthian, known in Japanese as "korinto gemu," which first came to Japan in the 1920s. In Pachinko, however, the machine has been tilted vertically so that player can sit down in order to play the game. The balls are propelled up and then fall back toward the bottom through a grouping of pins toward open slots. When a ball goes into a scoring slot, the machine provides more balls. Any balls that are left at the end of a session are taken back to the counter where they are counted by machine. The player is given a slip that shows the amount of the winnings. This slip can then be exchanged for prizes. Prizes The prizes given for winning are usually small items such as pickled plums, cigarettes, or candy. A few parlors provide a wider range of household products or electronic devices. Most pachinko parlors also give out "special" prizes that can be turned in for cash. These cash payments are not legal however, and often involve underworld sources. The authorities generally tend to turn a blind eye to such practices. Because the cash payoffs are illegal, they cannot take place openly within the parlor itself; a pachinko player who elects to receive such a "special" prize must take that prize somewhere else to get the cash payment. Sometimes, the exchange is made through what is literally a hole in a wall next to an alley.
There are three main kinds of pachinko machines: "Hanemono" is considered the easiest to play. This kind of machine has a central scoring slot with wing-like devices which open for a short period under certain conditions so that the balls can enter more easily. "Deji-Pachi" machines have payoffs that are controlled by a computer. Such machines feature an electronic display in the center, which is activated when a ball enters a particular slot. On deji-pachi machines, placement of pins is of less important than on a hanemono machine. "Kenrimono" machines are for serious players. The name refers to certain "rights" which are earned in the course of play. Success on such a machine requires a detailed knowledge of these "rights" and how use them advantageously. Players can win large amounts, but also lose a lot at these machines. A modest-sized pachinko parlor will have at least 100 machines to choose from. Larger parlors may have 500 or more pachinko machines. Pachinko is unique because the government does not control it. The government tries to police it only by trying to tax pachinko parlor owners. It is technically illegal for pachinko parlors to hand out money directly to patrons, so they hand out tokens instead, which can be redeemed for cash at nearby cashing stations outside the shop, run by a separate token-redeeming business. Each pachinko parlor sets its own machines any way its likes, although most conform to the industry standard. The word on the street is that the industry standard is roku wari gaeshi, or a sixty percent return. Compare that to an over ninety percent return rate on most Las Vegas slots, and you get a pretty good idea of just how bad a gamble this game is. Still, it is a mesmerizing activity that promises nightly amusement to those without a social life. In Japanese films and television dramas, scenes of some exhausted husband going out to play the game often follow scenes of domestic spats. Because pachinko requires a considerable investment of time, beleaguered salarymen can use the game to run from family responsibilities, demanding girlfriends, the bullying section chief, the kids who refuse to go to school, and the wife who finds pleasure in a different game. In other words, the escape pachinko offers has untold appeal. And the off-putting, miserable environment of the average pachinko parlor makes most salarymen feel right at home. Housewives and blue-collar workers may complain about the conditions of the shop, but not the man who works in an office. Mr. White Collar loves this stuff. And because playing pachinko is physically grueling, salarymen feel less guilty if they win. After all, they have worked hard for their winnings. Pachinko is unique because winning, or even dreams of winning, is not really what pachinko is all about. That is why, of all forms of gambling in Japan, none is so quintessentially Japanese as pachinko. What repels foreigners—the noise, the unnecessary steps involving steel balls and plastic boxes, the smoke, the constant barking by attendants, the somewhat pathetic and certainly masochistic act of staring for hours into a machine at clicking ball bearings—is just what attracts the (predominately male) Japanese customer. Horse racing is a weekend activity, and it attracts people who want to make money. Toto and the lottery offer a chance to dream about that one big score. Pachinko parlors are open every day, offering a long vista of lonely gambling sessions to the escapist, the masochist and the loner in each player. Judging by the enduring popularity of the game, there is a lot to appeal to.
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