Gambling is illegal in Japan, which may come as a surprise to you casino loving people out there. However, there's no need to be concerned, we are talking about the Japanese, after all, and they have ways around this kind of thing, a fine example being Pachinko... but that will be for another day. This time, I'm going to tell you about the highly addictive claw machines scattered all around the country, awaiting your gambling spirit to win pointless prizes you will only glance at following your struggle to get them home.
Arcades, filled with amusing games all laced with that Japanese flair and no one under 21 occupying them. Yes, I was surprised too. It would seem, possibly due to the lack of gambling available, that businessmen and adults from every walk of life use these arcades to unwind after a hard day's work, possibly face pushing any children out of their way to achieve the highest score on DDR.
These multi-level buildings have different themes on each floor, one floor may have arcade games, the next filled with Purikura (Japanese photo booths), and usually one stuffed full of claw machines, the perfect place to fill massive plastic bags with children's toys, questionable food items and stuffed animals, all in the name of some innocent adult fun.
Upon trying a couple ourselves, we quickly realized this was bulls***, the claw would pick up the prize and immediately drop it, not strong enough to hold that Detective Pikachu pillow that must be yours for God knows what.
Just as we were about to give up, we see a man walk by with three bags full of prizes. Not so sneaky, as we were the only "Gaijin" - we found out that means alien or outsider, accurate, I'd say - in the arcade, we watched this master at work.
Armed with 20 yen worth of coins (a machine typically takes 1 yen - about $1 CAD - per try) this guy kept loading in the coins, each time using the claw to slowly push and flip the prize closer to the prize chute. After a few tries, he would always end up with a win, adding to his collection.
Following this stalker obtained lesson, we attempt to recreate his technique and quickly got the hang of it, much to our dismay. The adrenaline rush you get from winning is addictive and the prizes themselves are such good quality, you can't help but justify your need for twenty Pokemon stuffed animals. We fell into the dark hole of cute Japanese merchandise.
Soon, we found ourselves looking like unstable adults with an identity problem, walking around with bags full of children's toys and no kids in tow.
Completely understanding the "why" at this point, I have to give credit where credit is due and say the Japanese are genius in the way they have meticulously crafted these machines. Challenging enough for adults to feel that rush while being able to rewrite your childhood heartache of consistently losing to those scammer claw machines back in Canada.
Having flown here on a thirteen hour flight with only a few backpacks as carry on, we quickly identified our new found hobby as a problem. How the hell are we going to bring our prized possessions home. We told ourselves it was for the kids, although let's get real, it was really for us. A huge reason people have children is so one can use them as an excuse to revert back to childhood and avoid a screening from a psychiatrist.
Despite this, we could not stay away, quickly accumulating far too many "presents for the kids" as our skills of identifying which prizes were primed for the win improved.
It turned out, the stuffed animals seemed to be the easiest to win, with the food and electronics requiring way more attempts than we had the patience for.
With a variety of games to test our skills and items to conquer, we found ourselves visiting an arcade any chance we got, stuffing our bags full and taking multiple plastic bags from the arcade to try and fashion a makeshift carry on for each of us. We even tried winning some proper bags from the machines (while we could have just bought some, but obviously that's no fun) and proceeded to fail miserably.
Unable to say no, or get rid of anything we had won, the day came when we needed to get back home. With the unhealthy amount of crap we proceeded to lug to the airport, the odd stares from passers by were only met with a knowing look of "yup, we have a problem".
Plastic handles ripping and sweat dripping, there was a determination within me that would not rest until these stuffies were on a plane back to Canada, with or without me.
Nonchalantly walking by the flight attendants, a box of chocolates in hand to thank them in advance for letting me shove my childhood into whatever compartment was available, I successfully spotted a vacancy and pounced.
Eureka! Mission complete, I settled down hoping everyone would find a place for their adult luggage, saving me the pain of giving up these things I just had to bring home, which are currently somewhere in my closet...
My success was only met with an announcement to prepare for take off, but internally, I had never been so excited, as an adult, about stuffed animals having a place to come home with me.
These Claw Machines will leave such an impression on you during your trip to Japan, I'm sure it is one of the things that pull tourists back every time and if it isn't, then maybe I do have a problem. The quality of prizes are second to none and you really do save money spending a few yen for the thrill, than buying it for much more at a souvenir shop.
I know where I will end up upon my immediate arrival in Japan, sleep deprived and starving, I'll be winning those prizes... for my kids of course.