ジム：日本は本当にパチンコ屋が多いですね。
佐々木：そうね、地方に行っても至るところにありますよ。
Itaru-tokoro
Jim: Nihon wa hontoo ni pachinko-ya go ooi desu ne.
Sasaki: Soo ne, chihoo ni itte mo itaru-tokoro ni arimasu yo.
Jim: There are so many pachinko parlors in Japan, aren't there?
Sasaki: Yes, even out in the provinces you find them all over the place.
Itaru-tokoro means, all over the place, wherever you go, here, there and ev- erywhere. Pachinko, or Japanese pin-ball, is such a popular national pastime that it's hard to imagine Japan without it I'm not particularly interested in it myself, though I gave it a try a few times just to see what it was like. The result was that I lost several thousand yen over a mere 10 minutes, which left me with nothing but the impression that you cannot win inpachinko.
However, if you travel around Japan, pachinko-ya go itaru-tokoro ni aru no ni odoroku (It's amazing how many pachinko parlors you find wherever you go.) There are at least a few in every town you visit.
Some pachinko enthusiasts say that it's the element of gambling involved and the fact that you can con- vert your winnings into money or commodities that attracts them to the game. Others say just sitting there surrounded by the din of the machines and watching the pinballs bounce around helps them relieve their stress.
Jim says, "Saikin wa rentaru bideo-ya mo itaru tokoro ni arimasu yo. " (Rental video shops are turning up here, there and everywhere lately, too.)
The increase in the number of rental video shops in Japan in the last few years is incredible. It just goes to show how commonplace the video player has become in Japanese households.
In the United States, cable TV is already at the stage where at the touch of a button you can select the movie you want to see from the program. If the same system catches on here in Japan, itaru-tokoro ni aru reniaru bideoya wa, toosan shite shimau deshoo (The rental video shops that are so abundantly apparent now will probably go bankrupt. )