My First Time

[wowo2a]

Hi... don't know if anyone has posted stories about the first time they played pachinko. Here's mine, hopefully someone will find it interesting!

It was a cloudy and humid Saturday afternoon in Tokyo. During the beginning of summer, most days seem to be cloudy and humid, if not fully of rain. The sun was trying to peek through the clouds as I arrived in Ochanomizu. I walked around the music stores and admired all of the guitars for sale. Several blocks later, the music stores gave way to stores selling old books and wood block prints. All of these stores had many racks of books outside, perhaps because indoors, they were stifling hot. After browsing through several racks of books, it began to rain. The rain was slight, at first, as if to give the shopkeepers time to bring all of their wares inside. The books disappeared, and the rain grew stronger. I took out my "casa" and went looking for a train station. Before I could find one, I happened upon a Pachinko Parlor. The afternoon was still young and I didn't want to go home just yet, so I stepped inside. There were not many people there, but you wouldn't know it if you closed your eyes and just listened to all of the noise.

Now, I had been in Tokyo for about three months on an assignment for work. I didn't know very many people, couldn't speak Japanese and didn't really know where I was going whenever I went out from my apartment. I had seen all manner of Pachinko Parlors when exploring the city and didn't really understand what went on inside. That was about to change...

[wowo2a]

<had to make dinner... sorry for making two posts!>

There was a plastic bag to keep my umbrella from leaking all over the floor and there was a locker area where I could store my small backpack for 100 yen. I found a yellow machine at the end of one row and sat next to an older gentleman. I was able to figure out how to put 1000 yen into the machine and figured it would be the price of my "education". I couldn't figure out what to do next and the older gentleman pointed to a small button where a bunch of pachi balls came out into my tray. The led screen where my 1000 yen had been accepted showed a credit for 500 yen. I turned the knob and watched the balls bounce around. A small adjustment to the knob was needed so that I would not have to use up my 500 yen credit. Pretty soon a whole bunch of sea creatures came speading by and then there was a two fish match! The machine screamed out, "Reach!" A mermaid made an appearance and the machine seemed to slow down until... three in a row. The screen flashed "Lucky" and the guy next to me (he was a lot more animated and helped me by showing me what to do in the bonus round) let out a big laugh. He asked me, best as I could tell, how much money I had put in. When I answered with 1000 yen, he grabbed his head like it would explode! At this time, the machine whistled and made a lot more noise and the words "Super Lucky" popped up on the screen. The guy next to me called me, "Super Lucky!" By this time, one of the attendants came by and was there with another empty basket to hand to me. He was dressed as if he worked in a catering hall, with a white shirt, black pants, vest and tie. His sneakers were also black and had seen better days. The attendant handed me an empty basket and I was ready to go again.
Eventually I had three full baskets, and a bunch more in the pachinko machine itself. And then, there was a small counter that reached 100 and the attendant said, "Level over!" I played whatever balls were left in the machine and somehow communicated that I was finished playing. The attendant made an X using his two index fingers, and I replied, "hai." The guy next to me put another 10,000 yen (!) into his machine and smiled as I followed the attendant to the ball hopper. All the pachinko balls went into the hopper and I received a receipt. I thanked him and stared... the attendant pointed me towards the register area. This room had assorted prizes, such as wallets and watches, with amazingly high numbers next to them. I gave my ticket to the "cashier" who instructed me on how many points I had to spend in the store. I ordered two Cokes.

I then received several pieces of plastic that held tiny pieces of gold inside. Looking perplexed, the cashier pointed to a door that went outside. (I did not know that gambling directly for money was not legal in Japan and that TUC shops were setup nearby Pachinko Parlors so that the "gold" could be exchanged for cash.) I didn't know where to go and went back inside, where the cashier pointed in the direction of the TUC shop. I put my plastic encased gold into a small drawer, which was then closed. When it opened again, 11,000 yen showed up. I had won about 100 dollars!

The rain didn't seem to bother me as I went looking for a train station. Neither did the ringing in my ears I stumbled across Jimbochu station but noticed that I didn't have an umbrella anymore. I went back into the Pachinko Parlor, where I found my umbrella, grabbed my back pack and made my way out the door. I looked back at where I was playing and the guy who was sitting next to me was still playing. He moved over to my old seat but still hadn't won anything. . .

[mudfud]

here's a similar thread.

http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/thes...et-hooked.html

we sound like an AA group, telling how we first got started in pachinko... main difference is that ENCOURAGE, not discourage, the addiction... welcome to the dark side

[MrGneiss]

WOW, Great story!!

[wowo2a]

I wish I had found the "how did I get hooked?" thread, I'd have posted there. I'm no longer living in Japan, and now I've got the hankering for a pachinko machine @ home. There must be several threads about buying a pachinko machine for the first time. I'll post other memories from time to time. Thanks for reading. And, to paraphrase an old joke, just keep playing until you need glasses!