Originally developed in Japan in the mid 1990’s, purikura has become a craze and an important part of youth culture in its home nation today. Recently, its popularity has spread throughout many other countries and has even begun making its way into the United States.

What’s so Great about Purikura?

Purikura involves taking pictures at a photo booth, but unlike the photos produced in other photo booths, purikura photos also double as stickers. Purikura are, essentially, nothing more than sticker photo booths, but the wide variety of themes and backdrops, as well as the lighting choices and music played during production, have made the hobby a huge success among Japanese teenagers. Many carry around albums full of hundreds of photos, just waiting for the chance to pass-by any unknown photo booth and take even newer photos to help fill their books.

So How Does it Work?

Purikura are fairly easy to operate. Generally, up to about 5 people can enter a single booth to pose for up to ten different photo sets. Money must first be entered into the machine, and then a variety of selections can be made. Most photo booths offer a choice of lighting effects, borders, and backgrounds, but many of the newer machines also offer additional effects, such as fans and bluescreen options. Customers are able to choose the number and size of the pictures they want, which will generally print-out on a glossy, 4x6 inch sheet. At some establishments, customers are even offered costumes and wigs to borrow to aid in the photo-making process.

So What Does Purikura Even Mean?

The name purikura is actually a shortened form of Purinto Kurabu, a Japanese word combination that is actually borrowed from the English word pair, Print Club. In Japan, the word purikura is used to refer both to a photo sticker booth and the product, or sheets of stickers, of such a photo booth.

So How Can I Get my Own Purikura?

If you are interested in taking part in the purikura phenomenon, you can always just go to Japan, of course, where there is bound to be a purikura booth in just about every city you may visit. If Japan seems like too far a trip for just some silly photos, then you may be surprised to find that a photo booth may not be as far away as you may have thought. Try taking a trip to your nearest arcade, and you may just be surprised to find that there is a purikura booth not too far away from the comforts of your own home.