Synopsis

Near Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, a stretch of national highway is lined with a dense collection of pachinko parlors. Inside, rows of inexpensive machines – the kind offering "1-yen pachinko" – fill the floors. There's a 70-year-old woman who relocated to her son’s family home after the earthquake, yet finds solace only in the bright lights and noise of the parlor. A man searching for work explains, “Pachinko doesn’t demand conversation.” Others spend entire days in the quiet rest areas, nev