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Pachinko oh no!
Today was an absolutely glorious day : Perfect sunshine, mid 20's, a cool breeze, nice smell in the air - I spent it in the Pachinko parlour! The Pachinko parlour, on the other hand, was very smokey, noisy, and air conditioned. From a philospohical standpoint, I'm a plonker. From a monetary standpoint, I'm a plonker. From a Zen standpoint, I'm a plonker. I put in a ridiculous amount ( not going to say how much cause it's just embarrassing ) then went to Macdonalds for some more healthy lifestyle, then went back and won most of my money back. It took me 10 hours!! They're going to make a film of my Pachinko comeback : The plonker's Pachinko revenge. Anyway, that was the riskiest financial day of my Pachinko career. But, I don't want to pretend there's some method to my madness, but it does afford me some very nice encounters with the Japanese. On the train, Japanese rarely talk or look at anyone, let alone a foreigner. But at Pachinko, we're all in the same boat. I had people whacking my machine for me ( to urge on a win ), had a nice chat about England and food and Hyde Park, advice about Pachinko techiniques etc. It's nice and a rare treat. Sometimes, I feel really foreign in Japan : On the outside, Japanese can be really distant and cold, staying in their private space. But once I'm able to talk to Japanese people, I'm always amazed by their simple friendliness and warmth. I don't think this is a unique quality of the Japanese at all, but everyone keeps to themselves most of the time in Tokyo and often foreigners are avoided on trains, so it's easy to start thinking you're living in robot land where the robots are Japanese, and foreigners are forever a different species, and never the twain shall meet. But it aint so. Although cliched, Japanese people are shy and, on the train, if they have a choice between sitting by a foeigner or a "safe" Japanese person, they usually pick the safe option. The fear of being asked a question in English infront of everyone is too much. Sounds silly really, but I think that's the truth. Obviously there are racist buggers, who think we're smelly and strange, but for the most part, I think that shyness causes them to steer clear sometimes. There are many occassions where I'm quizzed on my nationalty, age etc. on the train, but more often than not, everyone is in their "space". Pachinko leaves no space for shyness!
"Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life you'd like to"
Bit of a long Blog, but cathartic.
I haven't eaten dinner today, and it's too late now, so I'm going to sleep on an empty stomach and a futon!
posted by PA on Saturday, June 05, 2004
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