Pachinko in Japan a good read

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Pachinko in Japan
Nik Yasko examines JapanÂ’s popular punt

Commonly mistranslated as 'vertical pinball,' pachinko is a noisy, smoky, time-consuming, and hypnotic form of gambling that plays a huge part in the Japanese economy. Newcomers to Japan often ask just what those garishly lit, cheaply built buildings with names like Stardust, Paradise, and Omega are. Churches? Banks? No, they are pachinko halls, an integral feature of the Japanese cityscape.

the rest of the article

http://www.soccerphile.com/japanvisitor/jc/pa.html

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