Japan Photo Guide

Pachinko is a gambling game that is played all over Japan from Tokyo to the many rural areas. In Japan it is illegal to gamble. That being said, gambling is legally one of Japan’s biggest industries because of a loophole. Basically what happens is you put in money and get a certain amount of small metal balls. You then shoot these balls into a machine with small pegs in it and hope they land in certain holes (think pinball meets “Plunko” from The Price is Right). Anyway, if the balls land in certain holes you get more balls and then a reel spins (like in slot machines) if you get lucky you get something called “fever,” which means the wholes that you want to get the balls in widen and you are pretty much guaranteed to win some money. Anyway, when you want to collect your winnings you get your balls counted and take them to the counter. At the counter you then get some colored ticket and your winnings, which is usually some type of food or drink. Then you take your ticket to another place, not in same pachinko parlor but often right around the corner or next to the place and then you can get your real prize, the money. So because you are not getting money from the pachinko parlors, this is legal even though gambling is illegal in Japan.

Pachinko Parlors (and slot machines) are extremely popular in Japan and I have had people tell me that there job is just a part time job and playing pachinko is their REAL job. If you can get away with taking photos in a pachinko parlor then you might be able to get some interesting photos, but often they frown upon that kind of thing. Also the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) runs a lot of these places so it is best to stop if somebody asks you to.

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo‘s 23 wards and is a huge entertainment, shopping, business and (some) government district. Basically Shinjuku is a city within itself but is really just a (big) fraction of Tokyo. Shinjuku is very famous and has been in many movies including most recently “Lost in Translation” and “Kill Bill.” Shinjuku always seems busy no matter what time of day you go there and Shinjuku Station, is one of, if not the busiest station in the world. Shinjuku has a lot of really cool and large buildings (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, for one which offers great views of Tokyo) as well as a lot of people, shops and restaurants.

If you go late at night it is not uncommon to see drunk, passed out salary men sleeping on the streets or friends carrying another friend who is too drunk to walk. I recommend going, but do be careful if you wander into Kabukicho, the entertainment, drinking, adult and red light district, which has a lot of ties with the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia). In general, this area is fairly safe compared to the rest of the world, but compared to the rest of Japan it is a little unsafe. That being said, just don’t go picking fights with anyone and you should be fine.

For more information please see the Japan-Guide.com.