Purikura (Print Club)

[ghettocities]

They are everywhere in japan, lurking around each corner like a vending machine or a seedy member of the yakuza, waiting for you, waiting for you to enter their clutches and have your face trapped on cute little stickers in which you can doodle or write on. what could this be? it's called, "Purikura" , say it with me, "Puu - rii - ku - ra" which literally translated into "print club." Now for americans you've seen a similar but by far not advanced type of machine. Sure, in the malls and amusement parks across america we have a sort of box in which usually one or two people enter and have their photo taken, but none is as technologically advanced as the ones located in Japan.

While I was in Japan (before i had met my girflriend) I had dated eight girls in the first seven days i was there, now don't say , "your such a player, don't be using girls." but let me re-instate what i just said, "dated" which constitutes as going out to dinner and yeah, I had no clue as to what "Purikura" was, I didn't even know the world until the 5th time i had done it and finally asked.

Purikura like any photo booth you have your photos taken and you usually get to choose one, but in Japan their purikura machines allow you to totally change backgrounds behind you as well as add icons and graphics and also doodle to your hearts content on these cute little photographs.

Why are these so cool? because they are like baseball trading cards when your a kid, you collect the best people and show them off to your friends, in my case just about every girl i dated had something to do with modeling etc. etc. , so since purikura can turn into stickers, rather photos aswell i have one of my japanese language study-notebook's cover showcasing the girls whom i dated, everyone uses purikura usually for this reason, my girlfriend (ex) whom i had while i was over even went as far as to put purikura on her headboard so it allowed he to see me every night (since i had to leave.) but she is ok , i sent her video of us together so i don't worry about her being heartbroken.

I think everyone should get purikura while they are in Japan, people use it for resumes, to show off, to judge their past boyfriends and girlfriends to see who was the most attractive and just an overall fun activity to do.

Josh / Ghetto Cities Clothing (Tokyo Promo)
http://www.geocities.com/ghettocities/

*

[samuraitora]

purikura sounds cool and semi-practical. Don't think it will take off over here in the states the same way it did their though.

[thomas]

Purikura also became very popular in other Asian countries like Thailand, Phillipines, Taiwan etc. (I don't know about China). It's obvious that this trend has been picked up from Japan.

[Harvey]

I saw purikura in Chicago
Also, It seems like the novelty of Purikura is wearing off big time over here.

[TomAsInfinity]

Purikura is over here in London too. Been here for qiute a number of years too, and as you say, you can change backgrounds, add text, etc. More than likely not as advanced as the ones in Japan since they probably grind their own lenses, while we have to settle for borrowing someone else's

It's a cool idea I think, but I'm one of those traditional "photographs" type so these digi-res stickers would not be the best way for me to remember someone. Cool as hell when you're dating though

[samuraitora]

I found a purikura here in Michigan...it was in a video arcade.