The photo parlors or 'purika' are all over Tokyo, often linked to glitzy amusement arcades. Sparkly pink halls filled with countless booths, pictures of horribly over made-up women covering every surface. Pick the least ghastly booth (or, if you're with the lasses from my school, the most ghastly), pay four hundred yen between you and step inside.
Then cover your ears, 'cause in Japan it's sexy for teenage girls to speak in the squeakiest voices they can muster and these machines are aimed at teenage girls. The booths screech out instructions at a frequency so high it could reheat your lunch. Dogs for miles around know exactly what's being said but the human ear is incapable of comprehending without special training.
In your shock, press one of the many buttons on the touch screen panel and you will be presented with a selection of whacky and wonderful backgrounds for your picture. Blue beaches, pink hearts, red sunsets, pink teacups, green sparkles, pink flowers, pink beaches, just pink, light pink, dark pink, pink hair, pink pink, pink everything. There really is a lot of pink. Once you've decided on six backgrounds, press the okay button and the voice starts screeching again "ICHI, NI, SAN, YON, CHEEEEEEZUUUUUUUU". It takes photo after photo in quick succession, giving you barely enough time between each one to strike a new pose.
Once the photos are taken, everyone rushes to the other side of the booth to decorate them. You're given a time limit which causes the decoration process to deteriorate into a contest of 'how many sparkles can I get onto each photograph before the clock stops'. If the photos didn't look bad to start with, they will by the time you've finished adorning them with love hearts.
Once that's over and done with the photos are printed on sticky paper and dispensed from the bottom of the booth. Scissors are provided for cutting the stickers up and sharing them out.
My wallet is absolutely packed with these things and I have no idea what to do with them. If anyone has any suggestions then do put them in the comments box. The top prize is a collection of very small photo stickers!
3 comments:
Sign them, put them on eBay and donate the money to charity. I'm sure they'll fetch a pretty high price.
Or you could send them all to Grandma. Photos always seem to find their way to Grandma one way or another.
Great shot! Do they dispense digital copies too?
Cam might like to decorate his lunch box with them.
Stick them all over a Japanese teenage girl.
(But save one for me to put in my wallet.)
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