Hello, Dear Wind

It's usually not a good thing when the plugin Forecastfox has an icon that I've never seen before. Wind swirls. Apparently, tomorrow will be VERY WINDY in all of Aichi Prefecture. Huzzah.

I met some friends tonight in Fushimi to go get some dinner. Not knowing if they had already decided on the place, I was a bit surprised when we went to an American bar. It reminded me of the Simpson's episode, when they visit Japan, and eat at America Town. After forcing down a Guinness as a late birthday present for a friend, we ate, and headed out. I already decided that I was going to miss the bus, and either walk home, or take a newly found limited train back to my apartment. We had been in the area before, and I noticed a multi-story building called Beer Circus. I was intrigued, so we went to find it.

And was horribly disappointed. Nothing mildly circus-related. I was hoping for atleast trapeze artists or something. It looked like a Denny's.

Dejected, we tried to find another bar, but nothing stood out. None of us had ever played Pachinko before, so figured we might as well. It's an awful game. Although Seko enjoyed it just for the moment that the picture was taken:


Dejected, and with lighter wallets, we stole handfuls of candy from the Pachinko parlor, and I left to follow a guy to the secret window. This requires a bit of explanation.

In Japan, gambling, for the most part, is illegal. Kind of. To get around this and insure their safety, Pachinko parlors employ a roundabout method to gamble. You win the balls, turn them in, and can buy things like cigarettes, candy, gamecubes, cameras, and other prizes. Or, you can buy these tiny coins in boxes, that have a dollar (yen) amount written on them. You then take these coins outside the parlor, to a shady looking window half a block away. There, you turn the coins in for cash.

So we followed the guy to the window, and it didn't have any sort of sign or anything at all on it. Just a random window in a wall.

We figured that instead of gambling, we'd just waste our money at the arcade. Where I played Pachinko again. After getting it out of my system, we watched people playing some of the most complex games ever. With proof that the Japanese are marketing geniuses. Two games, one being some sort of samurai strategy game, and the other being a giant robot Gundam game, are the pinnacle of Japanese marketing strategy. You buy these cards, with barcodes (or RFID tags, I'm not sure) on them. You then open the pack of cards, see what you have, and make your way to one of the stations setup around a huge screen so people can watch. In front of each seat is a grid, where you lay the cards down, and by moving the cards on the grid, you control the unit. So you pay for the cards, you pay for the arcade game, and you pay to get the best cards. It's genius.

I didn't feel like spending any more money, so instead of taking the subway to Nagoya, then the train to near my apartment, I just took the subway to the closest subway station to my apartment, and walked the few miles back. It was actually a nice walk tonight, although a bit cold. I really should find out where I can park my bike near the station, but I need it this weekend to try to find a record player. And figure out how to use Japanese ATMs.