Nearly 40 years ago, I purchased a pachinko machine as a gift for my father. The Nishijin Type A game was perfect for home use because it recirculated losing balls into the reward storage tray. My father seldom needed to refill the supply tray with discharged balls.

Ball Recirculation

Unlike most other pachinko machines, the Nishijin Type A contains a ball recirculation ramp that replenishes the reward storage tray with balls that failed to drop into win pockets. (See the second photo above.)

In normal play, most balls exit the bottom of the playfield via the lost hole. From there, they roll down the recirculation ramp into the reward storage tray. The recirculation ramp has a guard rail on the outside edge, but not on the edge closest to the playfield. When the reward storage tray fills, excess balls on the recirculation ramp roll off the unprotected edge into a discharge tube hidden from view behind the plastic mechanism. My father collected discharged balls in a small cardboard box at the base of the game.

Occasionally a player will direct balls into several win pockets simultaneously (particularly when multiple tulip pockets are open). This rapid depletion of reward balls will uncover a counterbalanced pivot plate to release a torrent of balls from the upper supply tray and quickly refill the reward storage tray. With a capacity of about ten rewards of 14 balls, the reward storage tray seldom requires a refill.

Compare the recirculating Nishijin Type A with the Mizuho pachinko machine described earlier. In that more typical game, the upper supply tray feeds directly to the reward mechanism positioned in the center of the playfield. Lost balls drain out of the lost hole and drop directly down the discharge tube. I needed a pachinko ball lifter to return the discharged balls to the upper supply tray.