This is Center Gai. Center of Shibuya.
A lively and vibrant place that's perfect to take a selfie.
But that's so last year.
When you come to Tokyo, put your smart phones away,
and head to a Purikura photo sticker booth.
Look, I took one with my friends, recently.
How cool is that?
A middle aged dude on a sticker with couple of girls?
Not that, The concept.
Pro quality photos on a sticker,
also digitally sent to your smart phone.
This is today's Purikura.
And in this episode, we head to Purikura no Mecca.
This shop is just off Center Gai on the 2nd and 3rd floor.
It's packed with the most modern Purikura booths.
Purikura no Mecca also has props you can use
to enhance your experience.
Let's go a step further.
Like in any photo shoot, you need to look your best.
And this place has a dressing and makeup room.
Prepped like a pro.
There are lots of Purikura places
like this in Harajuku Takeshita Dori.
Posters on the walls promote the booths like Hollywood movies.
There's always a new machine to try.
This is as far as I can go.
You see, men are banned when NOT accompanied by a lady.
I brought my own ladies with me.
Naoko and Azumi recommended this Purikura machine.
Pick your photo shoot music and style.
This really is more than just taking a photo.
Time to enter the photo booth,
A big lens camera with a monitor to help position yourself.
Soft lighting and flashes around the room.
The conditions are perfect.
There are so many popular poses.
After the photo shoot, we head to the editing booth
on another side of the machine.
There's a timer here, so you have to move fast.
Not long after, the final product arrives.
We divided it by cutting the sheet with scissors.
The results? Cute!
and in some ways, freakishly alien.
Super smooth and brightened skin.
Freakishly big alien eyes.
This isn't what I saw in the mirror this morning.
Purikura History Corner.
These were the first two machines.
Print club 1, and Print club 2
No2 was popular when I arrived in Japan in 1998.
They created basic sheets of 16 low resolution stickers.
Often with a graffic on them.
Perfect to remember a fun date.
or afterwork drink with co-workers.
Simple, and easy.
Look how young I used to be.
Purikura records history.
I talked to Misato from WAO-RYU! TV about her Purikura diary.
She has been collecting Purikura stickers since highschool.
I didn't ask how long ago that was.
but I asked how she started a Purikura diary.
Purikura machines have come a long way.
The glamour and glitz.
It's a way to be someone else for 10 minutes.
Be beautiful, be a star!
And once again, no boys allowed (alone)
Two girls invited me to follow them
to get a closer look at Purikura booths.
This is a typical Japanese game center,
and they chose a stylish booth in the back
with loads of makeup enhancement.
Cost, 400yen.
With this machine, you can take a sample
then decide the look you're after.
Perfect, or natural beauty.
Perfect seems to have a lot of special effects.
They go for natural beauty.
There are just so many poses for Purikura.
Because the camera zooms between full body and close up shots,
It suggests poses in case you're not sure.
Each shot is timed, so you have to be ready.
You can see what it looks like
a few seconds after the enhancements are added.
Purikura really is an experience.
For a few minutes, users feel special.
like models at a private photo shoot.
When finished, the booths reset,
and you have to move to the editing booth on the other side.
This process is also timed.
so the next group can smoothly move,
from shooting booth, editing booth, without delay.
Grab your things, and move quickly.
The editing booth allows you to customize the photo.
Eye size, skin tone.
Enter your name, and pick the back ground.
Then you can customize each individual photo.
It's amazing how fast some girls can navigate these menus.
On the back side is the final screen where you choose the layout.
You can also enter in your e-mail,
where a digital copy sample is sent to your smartphone.
About a minute later, your photos have arrived.
Today's memory will last a lot longer with this Purikura strip.
So when you come to Japan, jump into a Purikura sticker booth.
You not only have a great souvenir from Japan,
but you have a bunch of stickers, that are really cool.