Link: http://photojpn.org/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1&page=1

Some JETs are addicted to cigarettes, others to booze and probably even a few to illegal drugs. While I don't suffer from any of those vices, I have developed a few other expensive addictions since coming to Japan. One of those addictions that I'm finally ready to admit to today is purikura; a Japanization of the words "print" and "club". In case you're still in the dark, purikura are photo booths that produce tiny stickers you can then share with your friends. While their parents are out blowing their future college funds on pachinko, teenagers in Japan (especially girls) spend their free time blowing what little money they have on purikura stickers. I don't think there's a girl in any of the classes I teach that doesn't have a purikura book in or on her desk. That's why these days Jamie Sensei never goes to class unless he's armed with Jamie Sensei purikura to hand out to the good girls and boys that do their homework or participate in class. Thank God my school has a color copier.


I've seen a print club machine once before back home in Toronto, but it was pretty small and basic in its functions. In little old Noheji town you'll find at least three purikura machines, while hundreds more are scattered about Aomori Prefecture's many shopping malls and video arcades. I noticed they were quite common in Korea as well, and even poor communist Vietnam had them:




So why haven't they made it big in Canada or America yet? I think it's probably just a matter of time until they do, but for the sake of my financial security I almost hope that day doesn't come for quite some time. Of course when I return home I will surely miss purikura, so what to do? I figure that I have enough money saved up now that I could probably buy and ship to Canada a print club machine or two for my own personal use. Heck, I could even put them in a mall or arcade and start raking in some serious loonies and twonies. The question is, could I live with myself if my actions were to unleash the same plague upon the Canadian teenage populace and education system that Japan has had to endure for the past ten years? I think I probably could. I'm really more concerned about what my English teacher brother might do to me in retaliation.


Anyway, this post is titled The History of Purikura because I found this interesting article on that very subject. In it you'll learn how purikura got started, what role the geezer boy band SMAP played in popularizing it, and also about several rare spin-off machines I've never seen such as "Stamp Club" and "Aroma Club".


To conclude I'd like to give you some personal print club tips. If you're a guy, don't go to a print club arcade without a girl with you. Most places have rules against unaccompanied men hanging around the machines, and even if they don't you'll still look like some lolita obsessed creep if you're alone. Try to plan your poses ahead of time, and if possible study the charts attached to the machine and decide what stamps and backgrounds you want to use before you start. Some of the fancier new machines like "Funky High" have cool extras like a stage that raises and lowers, or a fan to blow your hair dramatically. Once you are done you can input your email address and have your photos sent to your cell phone or computer right from the machine. I still haven't quite figured this function out since I can't read Japanese. Don't bother with Daiso's print club machines. They might only be 100 yen, but the images are seriously over exposed to the point where you will only look like two floating eyes and some hair. Okay, so now that you know what to do "Lets Purikura!".