Purikura (プリクラ, Purikura) is a term of Japanese origin meaning either a photo sticker booth or the product of such a photo booth. The name is a shortened form of the a registered trademark purinto kurabu (プリント倶楽部, Purinto kurabu).

Photo sticker booths or photo sticker machines are a special type of photo booth that produce photo stickers. Still maintaining huge popularity where they were created in Japan they have spread throughout East Asia to Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China and Thailand. Some have also begun appearing in the United States and Canada although they failed to make any impression in Europe when introduced in the mid 1990s.

These are some pictures of the machines:

It all started in 1995 with a photo booth that looked a lot like an arcade game. It was first developed by Atlus and Sega. Sasaki Miho came up with the Print Club concept in 1994. She based her idea on her school days’ experiences of putting cute stickers of Japanese characters on her notebooks.

When it was first introduced, there wasn’t much interest. The J-Pop group SMAP gave Print Club photos of themselves to their TV program audience, and Print Club booths started to become popular. Other groups and idols followed SMAP’s lead and started the craze. By 1997, teenagers wanted to collect as many of the photos as possible. In the spring of 1998, there were 25,000 Print Club machines, and many other copy cats on the market.

Teenage girls cannot get enough of these small pictures and spend anywhere from 400 yen to 4000 yen in an afternoon with their friends. Many times, there are long lines in front of the newest or most popular booths. This isn’t about having a picture taken. It is a social outing with friends and a memory-making experience. Teenage girls have small photo albums full of these little pictures, and they exchange and trade them with their friends. It is not restricted to teenagers, and adults get into the excitement, too, particularly on dates.

At one time, young girls put their pictures up on the photo machines or bulletin boards nearby with their phone numbers inviting men for friendship or enjo kosai (financially-assisted relationships). This is now banned by the police. Still, purikura areas are places where older men attempt to pick-up teenage girls. In some places, for example Shizuoka city, men are not allowed in the purikura sections of the arcades. There are large signs forbidding men to enter alone. Girls must escort their boyfriends into the arcade for them to be allowed in. These places do offer purikura machines for couples in other areas of the arcade.

Here are some pictures of the purikura stickers:

At one time, young girls put their pictures up on the photo machines or bulletin boards nearby with their phone numbers inviting men for friendship or enjo kosai (financially-assisted relationships). This is now banned by the police. Still, purikura areas are places where older men attempt to pick-up teenage girls. In some places, for example Shizuoka city, men are not allowed in the purikura sections of the arcades. There are large signs forbidding men to enter alone. Girls must escort their boyfriends into the arcade for them to be allowed in. These places do offer purikura machines for couples in other areas of the arcade.