June 2011 – Page 3 – A Geek in Japan

Pachinko are the quintessential Japanese slot machines. They are machines with small marble-like balls that you have to throw and depending on where they land, you receive money or not. On most playing modes, the only thing you can control is the speed at which you throw the balls, so it’s quite a “stupid” game.

Japan is full of pachinko arcades where Japanese people have tons of fun gambling. Those arcades are usually crowded, the noise of the falling balls is deafening, and they blast the music up to encourage people to keep playing. If you ever want to experience pachinko, the way to do it is buying balls at the entrance and then proceeding to sit down at the machine you like best. If you’re lucky, you might leave richer than you came in. Legend has it that professionals devote themselves to study the probability of winning with each machine at a certain arcade; but then it is said that the parameters of every machine are changed from time to time so people can’t cheat…

Pachinko machines

Building full of pachinko machines

I’m very happy to find the first reviews of my book, “A Geek in Japan”. Thank you! These are some excerpts from your reviews:

I lived in Japan for 4 years and every-time I used to step out of my house, I used to see something and wonder what that is, wonder why they do that, wonder what I should do now. A Geek in Japan is like a compilation of answers to all questions that ever crossed my mind presented in a fun, colorful and extremely addictive way. Every other page there was an A-HA moment for me.

You don’t need to be a geek at all, actually the title has little or almost nothing to do with the contents which are much much more culturish than geekish.

A geek in Japan is the best book any Japan lover could ask for. Plain and simple.

“A Geek in Japan” is one of the most versitile publications I’ve had in my hands for a long time. Readers will enjoy a gorgeous cover and page design along with truly wonderful pictures, most of them by the author, whilst reading insightful and accurate information about Japan.

Great pics and descriptions. Don’t miss it, this book will captivate you from start to finish!

It reads as a true personal experience of the country, not another tourist guide or brochure, it includes gorgeous photographs (taken by the author) and even though the word “geek” is on the title, Mr. Garcia strikes a difficult balance in the subjects he portraits, ranging from ancient traditions to the latest trends without forgetting the craziest Akihabara antics.

The narrative is fresh, fun and easy to read, while at the same time providing very complete and accurate description of a myriad of topics from the ancient traditions to the modern popular culture, and plenty of tips for travelers.

A geek in Japan is not a travel guide, but rather a way to immerse you in the Japanese culture, and therefore an essential read for anyone that really wants to enjoy a trip to Japan or learn about this wonderful country.

An unabashed Japanophile, I’ve collected a fair number of books on the country over the years, searching for that one book that would offer both decent photography and meaty content. While that’s a lot to ask, I think “A Geek in Japan” comes the closest to fitting the bill.

I’d recommend this book to anyone traveling to Japan for the first time.

Read the complete reviews here and here.

I’m also very happy to stay in the Top 20 best selling books about Japan at Amazon during the last two months! Thank you again. There was a week we were the second in the ranking!

And the first in the “Most Wished” ranking 🙂

Thank you, I’m so happy you like it and enjoy it as much as I did while writing it!

My stupid happy face when I found my book for the first time here at Shinjuku’s Kinokuniya