Mahjong Travel Journal : Leaving the comfort zone
Greetings everyone, Jamie here with the tale of my trip to Tokyo! For the New Year’s holiday, I decided to venture out beyond the impeccable boundaries of my small, cold island and make the long Journey to hang out with Jenn and Kirk in Tokyo. While this would mark my 3rd trip to Tokyo, it was the first time I ever had the pleasure of experiencing it with a native.
My first two trips were probably like most other peoples’ first trips to Tokyo: Shinjuku, Harajuku, Tokyo Tower, and Akihabara. This time though, I was determined to try to see a new side of Tokyo: one that the tourists’ eye doesn’t have the privilege of seeing. The secondary objective of course was to try and better my Mahjong game.
I started out in Niigata at the parlor I always go to hoping to get some last minute practice in before willingly stepping into the world of the experts. After this, I boarded a bus and took the 6 hour ride to Tokyo, putting me in Shinjuku around 1PM. After arriving and meeting up with Kirk, we immediately set our target destination the parlor where Jenn was working at that day. It was a rate parlor.
Now let me stop for a second and give you a little more background about my Mahjong experience thus far. Though I’ve had interest in the game for a few years, it hasn’t been til recently that I started getting serious about it. Due to where I live too, I can usually get no more than 5 live hanchans in a month. If I’m lucky I can make it to Niigata and play in a parlor, but that’s a rarity. Furthermore, while the players I play with at the parlor are really good, it’s still a no gamble parlor…. it is, in short, is my safety area. Up until now, not only have I never been to a rate parlor, but also I’ve never gambled in my life beyond a few college poker games.
Back to the story. Here I was not an hour off the bus, and I was already en route to get obliterated at a parlor. Those that read this are fully free to call me a newbie, but I was intimidated. We get to the parlor and I’m almost immediately put at a table against Jenn and two other customers. With my hands sweating and my heart beating, I buy in and hit the dice button. For the first two rounds, I stick to an ultra defensive game that will probably make most people laugh, but it got me through without throwing anything bad. Then in the east 3rd round, I received something that I couldn’t bring myself to ignore. My starting hand already had 7 or so mans(cracks) and two dora in it with the other tiles consisting of mostly winds and dragons. While I was still scared out of my mind, I thought if there was a time to make a move, it hand to be then. I was aiming for a hon itsu at best but I kept drawing man after man until it was around the 6th turn and I was in hon itsu ishanten with a wind head. I drew another man that put me in tenpai (Ready). Already fumbling and scratching my head for a minute with eyes beating down on me begging the question why I hadn’t discarded yet, I decided to push my luck and discarded my winds head. The next round I immediately drew another man to put me in chin itsu tenpai (Full Flush Ready). Taking another minute to think about my wait and surely agitating the other players at the table. I decide not to reach and sit there staring at what I could only pray were the correct waits. A turn or two pass putting us around mid game or so turn and I drew it giving me a baiman. After the heart attack and a few shots of wiskey (it was actually just coffee….) the game continued with me a much less nervous player loaded with fake courage.
While I went on to win that game, I lost the next two putting me at about even for the day, but the biggest thing was by the time I left the parlor, I wasn’t nervous any more. Also, the other thing I was surprised about was I played for about 3 hours and ended up paying no more than I would normally at the no gamble parlor I usually go to (I think it’s important to note it was a very low rate I was playing at). I think it was an important boundary to cross.
On New Year ’s Eve we were able to visit another parlor, this time just with friends. We went to a temple for the New Year’s count down, and then were immediately off to Shibuya for an all night session. I was amazed at how packed the place was. While this was a no rate parlor, they had a very interesting way of running it. At this particular place, it’s not about winning money, but about eliminating your losses. At the end of the session, the table charges are split proportionally depending on your rank at the table. For example the last place person pays 50% of the table costs or so, 3rd pays 35% or so, 2rd place around 15%, and 1st pays nothing (if I remember correctly). It’s kind of a fun way to play because you’re gambling without even realizing it. A friend described it as a place where it’s impossible to profit, but also impossible to lose very much. It’s also a good way to find strong players without having to enter the rate parlors. The other thing I noticed while at the parlor, was people all around me just having a fun time. Everyone was laughing, smiling, making mistakes, and just playing. It helped break my image down that I had made of mahjong in anything but my safe no rate parlor being a game of an stress and losses. It really helped me come out of my safety zone.
The next day I had the privilege of attending a pros’ drinking party with Jenn and Kirk. This was amazing for me because I got to meet many of the people I always play against on Mahjong Fight Club. I’m not sure how Japan feels about its’ mahjong pros, but at least for me, everyone at that party was a celebrity. This was the second big boundary I crossed in my trip to Tokyo; I realized they were just people like me, as obvious as that sounds. I spent the night listening to stories of their various mistakes and triumphs in Mahjong, what they do in their free time, and where they want to go next. I was completely blown away by the kindness and openness of everyone there. We were at the party for around 3 hours and I was able to have many good conversations and hopefully make many new friends. It’s definitely an experience that I won’t forget.
I had an amazing time in Tokyo. Everyone I met was very helpful and very friendly. The trip helped me in that not only did I get off of my small island, but I was also able to leave my shell and experience different ways to play mahjong. I feel like I have broken down one of the walls that was standing in the way of me becoming a better player. Most importantly was I was able to visit friends and make many new ones. I hope to visit again soon.
