You’ve just found one of Japan’s pachinko parlors, a hypnotic and massive gaming spectacle that is beloved by some and hated by others. Traditional pachinko is like a vertical pinball game mixed with a slot machine, where players fire small metal balls into a densely pinned board. If a ball hits a target, it triggers the slot reel on a digital screen, and winning spins trigger payouts of more metal balls. Despite this, the continuing strength of the pachinko industry as a whole has been thanks to two major technological advances. First is the introduction of Smaslo (Smart Pachi-Slot) and Smapachi (Smart Pachinko) machines in late 2022.