Exploring Mahjong Parlors in Japan: Part 1

Part 1: Introduction to Parlors

This is a multi-part article series about riichi mahjong parlors in Japan written by Josh Kwan.

Have you been to Japan and noticed the characters for Mahjong, 麻雀 (kanji) or まーじゃん on a building or posterboard outside a shop? Indeed, urban areas in Japan are exploding with mahjong parlors, sometimes multiple in the same building, all trying to get as many players in as possible. Members of our community often visit Japan, and the natural question becomes "can I, as a foreigner, play mahjong at a place like this while I'm visiting Japan?" I've answered this question many times for my friends, so I thought I'd use this opportunity to explain everything I know about playing Mahjong in parlors in Japan as a foreigner.

The kinds of mahjong parlors

First, it's important to understand the different types of mahjong parlors available in Japan, the rules they may play by, the different ways you can use a mahjong parlor, and the fees that you pay for the privilege of playing. By far, the most important distinction is Set (セット) versus Free (フリー). .In Set mahjong, you arrive at the parlor with enough friends to play mahjong, and rent an automatic table by the hour. In Free mahjong, you arrive at the parlor by yourself and you are matched with other individuals to play a game. Then, within the Free category, there are No-Rate (ノーレート) and Rate (レート) parlors. At Rate parlors, you are required to wager money according to your points with the people at your table, and thus you'll earn money if you win the game, and lose money if you don't. If you don't wish to gamble like this, play at a no-rate parlor instead, where you simply pay a fixed fee to the staff for every game you play.

Mainly, this article series will be about Free mahjong, as it requires a greater ability to communicate with not just the staff, but the other players at your table. Because of this, it's rather common to be rejected from a Free parlor as a foreigner, and I have spent a lot of time and effort researching how to maximize your chances of successfully being admitted to and playing at a free parlor during your trip.

I don't know Japanese and don't want to prepare a lot. Can I still play?

The "TL:DR" of this entire blog series is that you actually could play mahjong as a foreigner without any preparation, so long as you go to a specific jansou that welcomes both foreigners and beginners to mahjong. The most well known jansou that does both of these things is Bell Bird, which has a branch in Shinbashi, Tokyo and one in Nagoya. If your mahjong knowledge consists of "I've played one time at the Sunday Hugh meetup in NYC", this is the place for you, and I recommend not continuing any further with this article series! Go to Bell Bird for a safe, comfortable environment where not knowing how to use an automatic table, not knowing how to score hands, and not knowing how to speak Japanese are non-issues, to the point where there is even an English translated rules handout that you can read.

Since these are rare, I still find it very compelling to explore beyond only the places that are accommodating to foreigners. If you feel the same, read on!

What does a Japanese mahjong parlor look like?

Japanese mahjong parlors in urban areas are usually located in office-type buildings and up above the ground floor. They're packed with modern automatic mahjong tables and chairs, and generally also contain a front desk for checking in and out, as well as a drink and food area. They're all very brightly lit at all times of day, and often outfitted with CCTV. (This is important since a parlor often involves money changing hands, and it's important to deter any opportunity for sleight of hand or cheating.) They tend to be staffed by anywhere from two to six people, based on the time of day and the size of the playing floor. Staff members, as a rule, speak only Japanese and are usually skilled mahjong players themselves.

In the past, it was standard to allow smoking at parlors, right at the table. These parlors are still common today. Newer shops may permit only vaping (電子タバコ, denshi tabako), some may provide a designated smoking room, and some are completely non-smoking (禁煙 kin'en.) One of the most prominent mahjong parlor chains, Marchao (まちゃお), offers both smoking and non-smoking locations often nearby to each other, so you don't necessarily have to travel far away to find a non-smoking option.

Most parlors will offer a free drink system (フリードリンクシステム, furii dorinku shisutemu), complimentary with your game fees. A menu is often posted on the wall with your choices, but you generally can count on any parlor offering ice water, oolong tea, hot and iced coffee, and fountain soda like lemon and cola.

Noise levels at parlors are generally fairly high. Tiles clack, tables shuffle, and it's common for staff and players to engage in boisterous chat, especially when playing with a regular. Service requests are yelled (politely) by players and acknowledged by staff yelling back. Background music is usually inoffensive J-pop from the last decade or two, and if there's a TV, you'll often see M.League or other professional mahjong games being broadcast with muted sound. If your main experience with multi-table riichi mahjong is a tournament held in Europe or the US, this will be a very different play environment.

What's it like to play free mahjong in a Japanese parlor?

Entering a free mahjong parlor, you'll need to state to the staff that you're here to play free, and that it's your first time. The staff will likely set you up with an oshibori and a drink of your choice, then take you off to a quiet area to explain the rules to you and make sure you understand them. For foreigners, especially non-Japanese speakers or those unfamiliar with mahjong terminology in Japanese, it's important to study what the rules are beforehand, so you can simply acknowledge all the rules that you already recognize as they're read back to you. We'll go into depth into rules and manners that you need to be familiar with in free mahjong parlors, including the Japanese terminology used to describe these, in part 3.

Once matched to a table, it's important to greet the other players with a yoroshikuonegaishimasu before you begin playing. Since you don't know them and yet will possibly be exchanging money at the end of the game, it's important to build trust by treating this step with decorum.

Next, it's important to remember how to use the automatic table. Generally speaking, at the end of a hand, if you're the dealer or continuing as dealer, press the corner button to dump the tiles into the shuffler after all payments, and press the side button closest to you to raise the new set of tiles and light up your dealer mark (or increase the honba if you're in a continuation.)

From here, play mostly lines up with a foreign experience of over-the-board mahjong. Form your hand by drawing and discarding, make calls like chi, pon, ron, and tsumo.

If you do happen to win a hand, the most critical thing is knowing to score it, and read that score out in Japanese. For example, if you tsumo 3 han 40 fu in a typical 4 player game, you'll have to say 1300-2600 in Japanese, or sen sanbyaku ni-sen roppyaku. Similarly, if you're liable for a payment, it's critical to understand what payment is requested of you. Learning to do both of  these is outside of the scope of this article series; please check the slides from a seminar I helped facilitate where you can get a crash course on Japanese score counting.

Conclusion

In this article, we've introduced Riichi mahjong parlors in Japan and the ways you can play there. Next time, we'll talk about combing through YouTube channels, directory sites, and social media to find the best parlor for you to play at!

If you happen to be reading this on the day this article was published, Riichi Nomi is hosting a members' event to learn common Japanese phrases you can use when visiting a jansou in Japan at the Pinfu Center in Brooklyn, Saturday, October 17! It's sold out, but you can check out the printable pocket guide from the event on our Resources page.