P: Pachinko, Purikura and Pokemon
One of Japan's top pastimes and major industries, raking in a staggering Y26.3 trillion a year, is pachinko , a pinball game of limited skill. It's not difficult to spot pachinko parlours - they look like mini-Las Vegas casinos on steroids, all flashing lights and big neon signs. Inside, the atmosphere is no less in your face. The noise of thousands of steel balls clattering through the upright electronic bagatelles is deafening, yet rows of players sit mesmerized as they control the speed with which the balls fall through the machine. The aim of pachinko is for the balls to fall into the right holes so more balls can be won. These are traded in for prizes, such as cigarette lighters and calculators. Although it's illegal for the parlours to pay out cash, there's always a cubbyhole close by where prizes can be exchanged for money, a charade that the authorities have long turned a blind eye to. The initial cost of indulging in this mechanized mayhem can be as little as Y100 for 25 ball bearings; just remember to take your earplugs, too. One of the latest consumer crazes that is firmly headed for pachinko -like success is purikura (print club), digital photo booths which combine your mug shot with a vast selection of designs on a sheet of sixteen mini-stickers. Launched by Sega Corp in 1995, there are now well over 20,000 booths around Japan, and no self-respecting teenager is without their album of swapped stickers, with many adults getting in on the act, too, jazzing up their business cards with the personalized purikura . The machines, found in all major shopping areas, are well worth searching out; for a couple of hundred yen you'll have a neat pop-art souvenir of Japan. Need we say anything about Pokemon ? In case you've been in a cave for a couple of years, Pokemon stands for poketto monsty (pocket monster) and as any eight-year-old can tell you there are some 150 of them, all with silly names, such as Polywig and Wigglytuffs, and fantastic powers. It all started as a video game and has flourished into a multimedia phenomenon, now with its own shop (the Pokemon Centre, Kawasaki Teitoku Building, 3-2-5 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo).
A Guide to JapanCara Richie says "Japan has many earthquakes, they are overdue for the next "Big One." " Hello World.Jeff Konichi-Wa says "Spitley is the new and improved word for paper. It means paper. Say spitley instead of paper. Tell at least 9 people about spitley, and have fun in Japan. Thanks!" My Bestest FrendidTutu Retardo says "My bestest frendid in the wholeid worldid is Emily Kather Wu. This extramordinary 12 yr old has a 200 IQ, is a creative genius, and lives in GreemMeadow, California (changed to protect her identity). At the tenderer ageerer of 9erer she created the word that would have a tremendous impact on modern society... SPITLEY! it means paper!!!!" Jamboni1Ryan Czechii says "It's a spoons club MIRACLE! Full of spoons club joy and wonder!" About Japan...Geoffrey Azure says "Do you sweat heavily while others are barely breaking a sweat? Do you blush when there is no reason to do so? Are your hands and feet often cold and clammy? Do your armpits soak right through your clothes? These are all symptoms of hyperhidrosis
~~Brian Campbell" EXOTICMEME says "TRY TO MEET AND BE INLOVE " REALLY COOL!Maddie says "say spitley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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