Yahoo! News - Tokyo Temple Ceremony Honors Pinball Machines

Well, that is just plain silly. Of course you can go to temple for good grades, luck in exams, good marriage prospects and anything else, so why not winning at pachinko?

I love the game. Ever since I quit smoking though, I can't stand to be inside a pachinko parlour. They are aweful... actually, just walking by the one near me is terrible because smoke wallows out the door and envelops passers-by on the sidewalk. I used to sit in that? Ick.

I figure if they installed pachinko machines on airplanes instead of crappy old movies, I'd have it made. I can sit and play it for hours on end. Of course it sucks your money up in about five seconds, so it is really only good if you are winning. You thought slots were bad - these things can take $60US in about 5 minutes.

I figure it is a good thing that there aren't any non-smoking pachinko parlours (and if you know of one, please don't tell me).