Pachinko!

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This past Saturday Hiroshima's weather consisted of a tonne of rain, and far too many clouds! Actually, it was the kind of day where there are limited options when deciding what to do. After realizing that there was no point in sightseeing anywhere, my friend Casey and I discussed our options: go to the movies (and pay the ridiculous price of $18 AMER. to see one movie!), go shopping (even though we find it difficult fitting into the small Japanese sizes), OR be Japanese and spend the day playing Pachinko! Yep, Pachinko was by far our best bet!

The best way to describe Pachiko is to think of slot machines... because that is basically what they are. But for some reason or another, Japanese people are OBSESSED with Pachinko! I have driven through towns in the countryside that are so small they don't even have grocery stores or gas stations, but they have Pachinko parlors! Oh, to help you get an image of these Pachinko parlors, think BIG buildings with numerous flashy (and tacky) lights outside... guiding all of their victims into a large, smoky, and noisey room full of slot machines where you are expected to gamble (although I am not sure why they call it that because I have never heard of anyone winning) all of your money away, coin by coin! Rumor has it that these Pachinko parlors are all owned by the Japanese mafia, and considering that gambling is actually illegal in Japan, it is quite believable. Oh wait, there is a bit of a loop hole here, although you are not allowed to be rewarded for any winnings from Pachinko (because that would be gambling), you are given credits for your winnings, and you are able to redeem these credits for prizes, but you have to leave the building and walk to a separate shop (usually a block or so away) where your credits can be exchanged for prizes! Omoshiroi-jaro? (Interesting, isn't it?)

So yep, we decided that our best bet for this rainy Saturday afternoon would be Pachinko, but to spice it up a little we decided to have a few drinks first! Haha.. this is where it got interesting.... one drink turned into a bottle, and the bottom of the bottle resulted in a trip to the local Lawson's convienence store for some Chu-hi (basically a cooler)... and it went on and on. By the time we got to Pachinko we were thoroughly enjoying our rainy afternoon... and I had a great time at Pachinko! After spending about an hour there we realized that we had yet to put a single coin into the Pachinko machines, but we did manage to make some friends!

Next stop.. dinner, where we made even more friends! (Can't quite remember their names though!) And, to finish off our adventurous Saturday outing, we somehow ended up at the bar!

Best rainy Saturday I have had in a long time!

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Photos

Making Friends
Check out these hair-dos!

Comments

[Mom]

cold
Nice jacket - don't they have heat inside those buildings either ?

[Casey Lary]

Saturdays
Best Saturday ever! Lets do it again! Too bad we can't post our Puikura! We forgot our normal chant....