MARUHAN Pachinko for Visitors: Japan's Biggest Operator by Sales and Its Four Inbound Halls

MARUHAN (マルハン) is the pachinko industry’s biggest company by sales, and one of the few operators that publishes a dedicated visitor page with information in English, Chinese and Korean.

The four halls MARUHAN recommends to visitors

MARUHAN’s official “Play Pachinko” page picks out four halls for international visitors (MARUHAN):

According to the same page, all four:

• offer 4-yen and 1-yen pachinko and 20-yen and 5-yen pachislot, so you can start at the cheap rates;
• give out a free manga-style guide to playing, in English, Chinese and Korean;
• have staff who can teach you to play in English, Chinese and Korean.

Trade press has reported that English-speaking staff cover roughly 70–80% of opening hours at Shinjuku (Greenbelt via P-World), so don’t count on it at every moment. Our Shinjuku guide and Namba guide put these halls in context.

Membership

MARUHAN’s FAQ says member registration happens at the service counter and needs public ID such as a driving licence (MARUHAN FAQ). It doesn’t say whether a foreign passport is accepted, so ask at the counter. As a short-stay visitor you don’t need membership to play. Our member cards guide explains what membership does.

The company in brief

All from MARUHAN’s own corporate pages (profile, history):

• Founded on 22 May 1957 in Mineyama, Kyoto Prefecture; incorporated on 11 December 1972.
• Founder and chairman: Han Chang-woo, born on 15 February 1931 in Samcheonpo, South Gyeongsang, Korea. He came to Japan in October 1947, aged 16.
• Size: 317 halls; sales of ¥1.517 trillion and recurring profit of ¥21.2 billion in the year to March 2026.
• Milestones: 100 halls (February 2002); the industry’s first ¥1 trillion in sales (January 2005); 200 halls (August 2006); 300 halls (April 2014). The Maruhan Pachinko Tower in Shibuya opened in July 1995.
• Inbound: the Shinjuku Toho Building hall opened in April 2015 as an inbound-ready hall (2015 press release).
• Outside pachinko, MARUHAN’s history lists the Ponte 16 resort in Macau (February 2008) and a bank in Cambodia (May 2008).

Biggest by halls? Not quite. Dynam had 423 halls at 31 March 2026 (Dynam annual results), more than MARUHAN’s 317. MARUHAN leads on sales. Our parlour chains guide compares the big operators.

Tips for a first visit

• Pick up the manga guide at the counter before you sit down.
• Start in the 1-yen or 5-yen sections. See 1-yen vs 4-yen pachinko.
• Bring the staff help card in case no English speaker is on shift: staff help card.
• Set your limit first. Set a pachinko budget.

More: all parlours · first visit, step by step.