[Columnist: Raen Payne]
PURIKURA- [derived from the term ‘print club’ but shortened in Japanese romanized form for “Purinto Kurabu”] hence “puri kura”–プリクラ
Popular in Japan but still something of a mystery to most Americans; PuriKura are photo booths that let you create stickers from your pictures. Like a regular photo booth they take your picture– BUT in these booths you can spice up the pictures by selecting different backgrounds and even drawing on top of the images.
Having recently celebrated their 5th year anniversary, the family owned Pika Pika in San Francisco’s Japan Town is home to a large collection of the sticker booths. The machines are from Japan and feature an all Japanese walk-through. But fear not if your Japanese is rusty or non-existent because each booth has English translations provided by Pika Pika.
Best shared with friends, the price of most booths is between $8.00 and $10.00 for a sheet of stickers but the store often has special events where they reduce the price to $5.00, comparable to the cost of most purikura booths in Japan.
If you’ve never tried out these icons of Japanese popular culture it is an experience to remember. And now that they’re popping up in the U.S. you no longer need to make the long journey to Japan to find them.
But do plan a trip there, it’s an AMAZING country!
Pika Pika’s next special event is for Halloween, Saturday October 29th from 8:00 – 10:00 pm, booths will be $5.00 and there will be a costume contest and candy for trick-or-treaters. *Definitely worth checking out the next time you are in SF!
PIKA PIKA
1581 Webster St STE 225
Japantown San Francisco, CA 94115
415-673-7898
info@pikapikasf.com
www.pikapikasf.com
HOURS
Mon- Closed
Tues- 12-6
Wed- 12-8
Thurs- 12-8
Fri- 12-10
Sat- 11-10
Sun- 11-7
*photos by raen payne
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