Stephanie Montes De Oca / Contributing Writer
opinion@fiusm.com
The term “Purikura” is a shortened form of “print club” in Japanese, representative of a popular trend in Japan targeting all ages, especially among the younger generation. Purikura refers to a photo booth that prints out stickers of photo portraits set against backgrounds and frames selected by the user. Purikura machines consist of a photo booth with a monitor on the side to check and edit the pictures taken.
Today, these machines are equipped with functions to guarantee perfect skin that looks beautiful in the photos, a high-capacity camera flash that illuminates the whole booth in a pure white light and a monitor that allows the user to edit the pictures by adding stickers, text and effects in order to create an image of their choosing, designed to be cute, cool or soft. Purikura even has a function of making the eyes appear larger. Friends and families come together to have fun taking pictures, editing them and creating memories that they can stick to their phone, laptop or notebook.
It all started in 1995 with a photo booth that looked like an arcade game. It was first developed by Atlus and Sega. Sasaki Miho came up with the Print Club concept in 1994, based on experiences from her school days when she put cute stickers of Japanese characters on her notebooks. When Purikura was first introduced, there wasn’t much interest, but when the J-Pop group SMAP gave Print Club photos of themselves to their TV program audience, Print Club booths started to become popular. Other groups and idols followed SMAP’s lead and thus the craze began. By 1997, teenagers wanted to collect as many photos as possible. In the spring of 1998, there were 25,000 Print Club machines and many other copy-cats on the market. Thanks to the hoards of teenage girls who love to use them, Purikura has gained immense popularity.
Purikura creates many fun and meaningful memories, which is why I want them to be available in Miami. Usually, people spend anywhere from 400 yen to 4000 yen ($3 to $30) in an afternoon with their friends. Many times, there are long lines in front of the newest or most popular booths – this isn’t just about having a picture taken, it is about going on a social outing with friends and having a memory-making experience.
Junior and Hospitality Management major Alina Roque, who is minoring in Asian Studies, has a deep love for Japanese culture and Purikura has always been on her to-do list when she visits Japan.
A popular practice among teenage users of the booths is to have small photo albums full of little pictures that they exchange and trade with their friends. However, Purikura is not restricted to teenagers, since adults get into the excitement as well, particularly on dates. This is exactly why I love the idea of having Purikura here in Miami, because it’s all about making memories, it would be perfect and adorable to do with your special someone.
That said, I personally feel that Purikura in Miami would be a fun way to spend time with friends acting silly and creating photos together. Usually, when I want to hang out with my friends we have a hard time finding anything that is affordable and open, as most malls close at 9:30 p.m. Usually, the younger generation wants to hang out long after that time, but there are very few student-friendly options past those hours. However, if we had Purikura machines like in Japan, which are mainly located in arcades or have a whole stores designed for them.
Whether commemorating a great day or simply wanting to have time to be silly, Purikura would be a perfect addition to Miami’s social scene – much better than the few-and-far-between single-function photo booths one rarely sees on an outing.
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