Pachinko
The noisy
electronic pinball game called Pachinko is a very popular adult game. Adults have been playing this game since the
1950’s in rooms filled with smoke!
Players buy silver colored balls called ball bearings in a basket. They feed them into a machine one after
another. They turn handles controlling
the strength, which the ball is released hoping to win more balls. Since it is illegal to gamble in Japan, the
winning balls are traded for food and other prizes.
There’s not a
lot of time to play after school since many children go to after school
activities. Some participate in team
sports like baseball. Others take art
classes like flower arranging. Some go
to music lessons. A lot of youngsters
go to cram schools for extra school help.
In children’s free time they do play hide and seek, tag, hopscotch, jump
rope, card games, and computer games.
It’s fun to
play with a yo-yo or a rattle. Looking
through a kaleidoscope is interesting.
To juggle with three beanbags takes a lot of practice.
Children
cuddle stuffed animals like this Taturo, a Japanese cartoon character.
One favorite
game is rock, paper, scissors, shoot (jen- ken- pong). This is done using hands. It often is used to decide who will be first
in a game. A group chants “jan ken pon”
all together. They put their fists
together and when the word pon is said you put out scissors, rock or paper. Scissors win over paper. Paper wins over rock. Rock wins over scissors.
Koma
These are
tops.
Kamifuusen
This is a
balloon made of paper.
Kendama
A cup is attached to a ball. You try to flip the ball onto the cup.
Sugoroku
This is a
Japanese board game. You keep rolling dice. The first person to get to the
middle of the board is the winner.
Daruma-otoshi
Using a
small wooden hammer, you try to knock all the blocks from under the daruma, a
monk, and keep the daruma standing.
Menko
Round
double- sided picture cardboard disks are thrown at other people’s disks to try
to turn them over.
Shiritori
You name a
word. The next person needs to think of
a word that begins with the last letter of the word given.
Example: dog
goat top puppy
Fukuwarai
The game
means “happy laugh”.
You try to
place face parts on a jolly woman’s face while you are blindfolded. This game
is a lot like Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Dendendaiko
A drum is
attached to a stick. Strings with beads at their ends are attached to this
drum. You twist the stick so the beads hit the drum.