Working at a Pachinko Hall: What to Know Before Your First Shift

2. Understand the job and your employment terms

Ask for your employment conditions in writing and read them before agreeing. Ask for an explanation of anything you do not understand. Keep your copy somewhere you can find it.

An employer’s request to work extra hours does not override your immigration permission limit. Keep your passport and residence card yourself; do not leave them with the employer for safekeeping.

• What is my job, and which tasks are outside it? Where will I work?
• What are the hourly wage, payday, deductions and any transport allowance? How are extra hours and late-night work paid? Are there uniform or other work-related costs?
• What are my shift times, breaks and days off? How do I report illness or request a shift change?
• Is there a training or probation period? What are its pay and conditions?
• If the contract has an end date, how are renewal and leaving handled?

Record the hours you actually work and keep your payslips. If the explanation and the paperwork differ, ask before starting.

3. Learn your hall’s routine

A shift may include greeting customers, keeping the floor clean, answering call buttons and helping with the hall’s customer-service process. The role may also include counter work, but only after the required training. Some halls move balls in boxes; others use automatic counting systems.

On your first day, ask someone to show you the staff area, exits, cleaning supplies and the person in charge. Learn how to use the radio or intercom and how to identify a machine’s location. Watch a demonstration, practise with a trainer, and ask them to check your understanding.

A useful first-day question: “If I am unsure, who should I call, and how do I reach them?”

Pachinko and pachislot: the basics

Knowing what the customer is doing makes requests easier to understand. Ask your trainer to demonstrate each type of machine in your hall. These are broad basics; controls and game rules vary by model.

Pachinko uses small balls. The player operates a handle to launch them and adjust their strength. On common digital pachinko machines, a ball entering the start pocket can trigger a draw and the screen’s symbols move. A winning result can start a bonus that awards more balls. Screen effects alone do not mean that a win is guaranteed.

Pachislot uses reels, a start lever and stop buttons. The player places the required token bet or uses stored credits, starts the reels with the lever, and presses the stop buttons. Winning symbol combinations, replays and bonus features follow that machine’s rules. The required operation can change during a bonus, so follow the machine’s instructions and the trainer’s explanation.

Smart pachinko and smart pachislot record play value electronically, so customers do not handle physical balls or tokens. Smart pachinko still uses real balls internally. Learn which displayed number is play value and which is unused money. Those balances have different uses and procedures.

• 玉 (tama): balls used in pachinko. メダル (medaru): tokens used in pachislot.
• 玉貸し / メダル貸し (tama-kashi / medaru-kashi): lending balls or tokens for play.
• 大当り (ōatari): a pachinko jackpot or bonus result.
• 計数 (keisū): counting or recording balls or tokens when finishing or transferring play value.
• 景品 (keihin): prizes received through the hall’s prize-counter procedure.

As a staff member, explain only what you have been trained to explain. Do not recommend a machine as a guaranteed winner or encourage a customer to spend more to recover a loss.

4. Help customers one step at a time

Do not pretend to understand to end a difficult conversation. A polite confirmation is better than a confident guess. Do not promise a refund, prize, payment or repair time without authority.

If a customer becomes angry, avoid arguing about who is right. Keep a safe distance and call the supervisor. Report threats, harassment or unwanted touching promptly. You should not have to handle an unsafe situation alone.

1. Greet the customer and listen to the request.
2. If necessary, ask them to repeat it or point to the problem. Repeat the key detail back to confirm.
3. If you have been trained and authorised, follow your hall’s procedure. Otherwise, call the person in charge.
4. Tell the customer what you are doing, and pass on the request accurately.

5. Stop and ask when equipment has a problem

A call button may signal a simple question or a machine problem. First identify the machine and what the customer is asking. Use the radio to describe what you can see without guessing the cause.

Do not open a machine, reach inside, clear a jam or change settings unless you have been trained and authorised for that exact task. Never bypass a safety device. Follow the hall’s procedure for keeping customers away from a hazard.

For smoke, a burning smell, injury or another immediate danger, alert the person in charge and follow the emergency procedure. Learn the evacuation route before an emergency happens.

6. Treat balls, tokens, cards and cash carefully

Balls or tokens, recorded play value and unused money on a card are different things. Do not assume that a displayed number is cash or that every card works the same way. Ask your trainer to demonstrate the equipment and explain what staff may do.

Before handling a customer’s card or belongings, explain the task and follow the hall’s confirmation procedure. Never use a customer’s card for another person or leave it unattended. If you find money, a card or a phone, use the lost-property process.

Direct questions about prizes, unused balances or a transaction problem to the authorised counter staff. Do not guess an exchange rate, promise that all balances can be refunded, or invent a procedure from a machine you used elsewhere.

Understanding the “three-party system”

The “three-party system” (三店方式) describes a prize-distribution arrangement involving a pachinko hall, a separate prize-buying business and a prize wholesaler. A customer receives prizes from the hall for their play results. Some prizes, often called special prizes, may then be sold by the customer to a separate buyer. The buyer sells prizes to a wholesaler, which supplies prizes to the hall. These businesses have different roles; the hall itself does not pay the customer cash as a prize.

Article 23 of Japan’s amusement-business law prohibits a pachinko operator from offering cash or securities as prizes or buying back prizes it has given customers. In an official parliamentary response on 24 April 2025, the government explained that a third party buying prizes is not automatically a violation of that law, but a buyer effectively identical to the hall operator can make the transaction unlawful. The name “three-party system” does not guarantee that every arrangement is lawful.

For staff, keep prize handling at the hall separate from an outside business’s transactions. Do not personally buy customers’ prizes, promise an outside buyer’s price, or handle an outside transaction for a customer. Ask your supervisor about the lawful, locally applicable customer-information procedure.

7. Work safely and keep the floor clean

Wear the footwear and uniform required by the hall. Keep walkways clear, deal with spills using the trained procedure, and use the correct cleaning supplies. Do not mix cleaning chemicals. Wash your hands and follow the workplace’s hygiene rules.

If your hall uses heavy boxes, ask for lifting training and use available equipment or help. Do not carry a load that you cannot manage safely. Learn how to work around customers without blocking their route.

Pachinko halls can be noisy. Ask how the workplace manages noise and which protective equipment is required. Tell your supervisor if you cannot hear instructions clearly. Take your scheduled breaks and report a safety problem or injury promptly.

Check the employer’s minimum hiring age and the shifts you may work. Anyone under 20 must not enter smoking rooms, including for cleaning. Tell your employer if this affects the tasks assigned to you.

8. Respect customers’ and coworkers’ privacy

Do not photograph customers, identity documents, staff screens or workplace records, or post workplace incidents online. Follow the hall’s rules for handling personal information and access to staff systems.

Keep staff passwords private. If you lose a device, send information to the wrong person or notice a possible privacy problem, report it quickly. Do not try to hide the mistake.

9. Before your first shift

• □My work permission and planned duties have been checked.
• □I understand my pay, shift, breaks and employment conditions.
• □I know who trains me and who is responsible during my shift.
• □I know how to call for help and identify a machine’s location.
• □I know which equipment I must not touch without training.
• □I know the emergency exits and how to report an accident.
• □I know the rules for cards, cash, lost property and personal information.
• □I know how to contact work if I am delayed or unwell.

It is normal to ask questions. If a task has not been explained, stop and ask for a demonstration before trying it alone.

10. Where to ask for help

Start with your trainer or supervisor for routine work questions. For unresolved questions about immigration permission, contact the Immigration Services Agency. For wages, hours or other employment concerns, the official labour advice pages below provide Vietnamese and Nepali services. Check the page for current contact details and opening times.

If you cannot raise a problem safely at work, you can seek advice outside the workplace. Before calling, write down what happened, the dates and the question you want answered. Do not send original identity documents to an unverified contact.

Useful Japanese at work