DoraSeg I'm in Tokyo, and my ears are bleeding!

[Blastronaut]

Hey all from Tokyo! Here on business, and I learned they opened a shiny new pachinko parlor right outside my hotel. Naturally, I had to check it out. Staff is very friendly, and they offer help to those who don't speak Japanese (I do speak some Japanese, but I couldn't HEAR anything...and I still can't 20 minutes after leaving the place!)...I found an open machine (the place was packed!), which was a Palot game called DoraSeg. If you haven't tried it, and you can get your hands on one, or can go to Tokyo, I highly recommend it. It mixes pachinko and pachislot with all the intense bells and whistles of both. See the pic attached, which I managed to snap right as I was leaving...trying to be very inconspicuous, as I don't know the photography policies of pachinko parlors.

Incidentally, I won myself a chocolate bar for my 20 minutes of play.

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[Drunkenclam]

Incidentally, I won myself a chocolate bar for my 20 minutes of play.

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Thats great. Glad your enjoying it.

But!!!

How come no picture of the chocolate bar?

[Blastronaut]

Oh! Sorry about that. Here you go

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[jodini]

That's funny! So how much does it cost for like 500 balls?

[Blastronaut]

Its 1 yen per ball, but you can only purchase 200 balls at a time in 200 yen shots. So I'd imagine it would be 500 yen, if you could play it that way. Probably would have to play 600 yen's worth.

[Skydanz]

Did they explain what the counter with the graph on top of machine tells you? What info is the graph telling you? Wins over time? Balls in vs. payouts? Just curious.

[Blastronaut]

I wish they had! I have been dying to find this type of data counter, and attach it to my machines. I think the graph is wins (balls in the reel spin) over time...since I only won 59 balls out of 1000 played.

[luckydog]

sounds like a really tight machine

[Sederien]

(I do speak some Japanese, but I couldn't HEAR anything...and I still can't 20 minutes after leaving the place!)

For anyone who visits Japan and/or pops into a pachinko parlour, please do yourself a favor and purchase earplugs (called "mimisen" in Japanese) before playing. You can find them at some convinience stores and most drug stores.

I made it a personal rule that if I didn't have earplugs on me, I could not even walk into a parlour considering the potential for early hearing loss.

[luckydog]

when I first got my Dragon Monkey pachinko I almost popped my eardrums the first time playing it

[p.opus]

1 yen per ball. That's really cheap. Probably why the machine is so tight. I've read of averages of approximately 4 yen a ball with a return of 2.5 yen per ball. In those type of parlors, the machine are actually set so you "win" more balls than you put in, but you cash them out at a discount, so you have to win REALLY big to get a profit.

Just yesterday I played Star Wars for an hour and had multiple fevers. (I've since adjusted the pins back a bit, they were way too wide).

I put in 4418 balls and won 14605. With a 4 yen rent fee and a 2.5 yen return, and assuming I would not have played any of my winnings, I would have spent $176.72 and won $351.65 for a profit of $174.93.

A 1 yen per ball rental fee explains why you shot 1000 and got 59 in return. It also explains the ten dollar candy bar

[Blastronaut]

I just thought about earplugs this morning. I'm probably going to try and go back, but certainly not without them!

I think its the experience more than anything; I certainly don't mind playing $10 for the enjoyment of a candy bar and the latest in pachinko games. Gives me a chance to scope out all the new releases.

Does anyone know if its okay to use your cell phone to film or take pictures in the parlors? All the machines are so shiny and clean, I want to take them all home!

[Card Shark]

I have no idea if it is ok but would love to see any videos you shoot.

[Sederien]

Does anyone know if its okay to use your cell phone to film or take pictures in the parlors?

You will receive a polite, but firm request to NOT do that.

[candyflip]

You will receive a polite, but firm request to NOT do that.

Just do it anyway about the time you are prepared to leave - the worst that can happen is they throw you out.

Just keep smiling and saying 'wakaranai' (分からない) as you back out the door, and you'll be fine.

[Blastronaut]

Oh, btw, here's where I played it. This place is new, clean and shiny. Very nice!

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[mosheste]

Does anyone know if its okay to use your cell phone to film or take pictures in the parlors?

Well...its time to buy Google Glass