How to purikura like a pro for Valentines Day

A purikura sticker picture booth ready for action.

Valentines Day is quickly approaching, and many of us may like to consider some cutesy romantic memorabilia by snuggling up to our lover in a tiny booth for some sticker-picture mementos. But be warned. Purikura requires skills. Trust me. If you go unprepared into these 'print club' booths that spit out sticker pictures, you’ll end up with a big donut over your face that you can’t erase, and there goes US$4-13. So study this guide well. Practice. Fail. Practice again. Then, with a bit of luck, you’ll look as sparkly as the teens in the sample images. 

The Rawr! and Devil Horns poses combined for mass effect.

Preparing to purikura

Most Asian game centers have more than one purikura booth. Look for special features such as sparkly print-outs or 'anime-eye' effects.

You can cram as many people in the booth as you’d like, but for best results, stick to two to four pals per snap. Remember: the finished photos are not much larger than postage stamps.

The instructions may not be in English, so be sure to have someone on hand who can understand what the bubbly female voice is gibbering on about.

Finally, take a minute to spruce yourself up. Purikura’s diffuse lighting is forgiving, but there’s simply no cure for Dragonball Z hair.

The finished product.

Say V-fingers

The moment you insert your money, the race begins. You have fifteen seconds to select the lighting, backgrounds and frames -- and if you’re not fast enough, the computer will choose for you. I always go for maximum brightness and minimal frames.

You’ll be able to see yourself on the preview screen, so make sure everyone is visible and facing the correct camera. Open your eyes wide and wait for the cutesy voice to count down, “three… two… one… SNAP!” Quick: Rearrange your positions and repeat.

Try different facial expressions and poses, such as 'V-fingers' and 'cheek-punch.' (CNNGo has a guide to Asian poses) If the background or border has a theme, try to match it.

After the quick-fire snaps, you have about fifteen seconds to select the pictures you want. Go for the largest-sized printing option, as it’s easier to scan and share big images. You can also get the photos sent to your phone.

Purikura print-outs, ready to be divvied and shared.

The decoration countdown

The screen will flash a color to indicate which ragugaki corner (decoration area behind the booth) to run to. You and a friend have about 200 seconds to graffiti each photo into a hyper-animated sparkly environment. Don’t forget to embellish them all.

First, spruce up the hair and hands. Try putting cat ears on top of your friend’s head, or changing your haircolor to blue, or covering a blemish with a bumblebee.

Next, scribble a caption and fill in the blank space with cute character stamps. If you mess up, stay calm; press the 'back' button and it’ll disappear.

Finally, douse the image border with sparkles and glitter. I like to highlight eyes and cheeks with starbursts.

Time’s up. In a few minutes, the sticker pictures will come out from a slot. Using the nearby scissors, cut and divide the booty.

Gambatte: Try your best!

I remember feeling overwhelmed the first time I did purikura. But there’s something about the infinite customization options and bubblegum music that pulls you back for seconds. I encourage you to round up a few friends and give purikura a sporting try.

Final tip: Before hitting the booths, you can practice with the free web program Puricute, or download Pri-Pri Marron’s iPhone app.

La Carmina writes about Harajuku pop culture and all things spooky-cute. She is the author of three books about Japanese pop culture and food, including Cute Yummy Time and Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo – for which she did all the photos and illustrations. Both books were released in October, accompanied by a US major city book tour.

For more, please visit her website.

Read more about La Carmina