Friday, September 28, 2012

Trip to Japan~Bite of Japanese Pop Culture "Purikura"

I shared about one of my sisters several times on my blog. I have another sister that is 20 years younger than I. Yup, you read it right, 20! I got married and moved away when she was 2, so I really wasn't there to see her grow up. Also it was hard to have a "sisterly bond" with her.

One of the things I wanted to do during the two week stay was to spend some time with her and get to know her more.

Many nights we stayed up late till 3, 4 in the morning and talked a lot. She cooked for me (she is an excellent cook!), we watched movies together, went shopping... and we did "purikura" together.

What's purikura? Basically, it is a very high tech photo booth. I found a link that explains it very well, so if you are interested you can read all about it. Purikura is VERY popular among teens, and there were lots of pictures in my sister’s room as well.

I watched a documentary about purikura once on TV, and they were saying that it is so advanced that it will automatically make your skin look prettier in the photo, allow you to play around with the photo before you print it out, and send the photo to your phone too.

So, I am a very curious being, I decided to investigate this very popular pop culture of Japan...

Well... there were lots of young girls taking pictures as they were talking and laughing in their high pitched voices... I was a little embarrassed to even be there but decided to have fun with my sister, and I did it!

These are the pictures...

There is a suggestion on the screen of what kind of pose you should do for each shot. I really didn't know what to do, I just followed the instructions.

After taking the photo, we can choose the background, add or write things on the photo.

We had so much fun doing this together, we were laughing throughout the whole thing.
I think this is actually our first photo together in so many years.

As I saw on TV, purikura took really good pictures of me with flawless skin. I think I look at least 5, 10 years younger. Though, I didn't miss my sister mumbling "fraud"! I showed the picture to several of my friends my age; they all wanted to go take pictures at the photo booth. :) Yup, I tested purikura and it was a lot of fun and a cheap way to buy "happy"(it was 400yen, which is about less than $5). I can put my seal of approval on it.
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13 comments:

  1. emma_GSeptember 28, 2012 at 5:18 AM

    awww she's beautiful. So are you, and looks like a tonne of fun :)

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  2. Naturally CarolSeptember 28, 2012 at 7:35 AM

    Your little sister is such a doll! My sister and I had to get to know one another again after I had lived in Australia for twenty years..she had been in NZ all that time. I know it is worth every effort. It's good to see you both having a lot of fun. It will be easier now to communicate from separate countries and have a bond.

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  3. Bethany @ Our 4 Sons Plus 1...Super Cute Girly GirlSeptember 28, 2012 at 7:38 AM

    So fun!!! =)

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  4. Maya KuzmanSeptember 28, 2012 at 7:50 AM

    The most important thing is that you made and will cherish wonderful memories with your sister and that is PRECIOUS!
    Will have to investigate purikura - the pics are amazing!

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  5. JuliaSeptember 28, 2012 at 8:22 AM

    Very nice photos.
    Thanks for sharing with us a bit from the Japanese culture.

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  6. JuliaSeptember 28, 2012 at 8:23 AM

    Very nice photos.
    Thank you Sachike for sharing the Japanese culture with us.

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  7. gidgeSeptember 28, 2012 at 11:11 AM

    You two are so beautiful! Love the fact you enjoy spending time together when you have opportunity.

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  8. bairozanSeptember 28, 2012 at 12:43 PM

    Bonding with a sister you haven't grown up with must be such a challenge but sisterly love has won, obviously! You've had fun, I can tell! BTW, lovely picture :)

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  9. EmilySeptember 28, 2012 at 7:33 PM

    You two are so cute!! :)

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  10. opportunityknitsSeptember 28, 2012 at 10:30 PM

    Both of you look so cute and made a pretty keepsake together!
    My teen daughter takes purikura photos with her friends too. Maybe one day, if I find the courage, I might go and take some with her and make some fun memories.

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  11. ThatBrunetteSeptember 30, 2012 at 5:05 PM

    Adorable pictures! That looks like a fun way to remember an afternoon.

    Does it only work for women? I would love to do a picture with my son next time we go to Japan. Hopefully, it will be fall 2013 or spring 2014!

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  12. cruellaOctober 1, 2012 at 6:53 AM

    Ah, this really resonates with me! I have a sister who is 12 years younger and I moved away just when she started school at 7... I'm really happy to say that we're such good friends nowadays, 30 years later:-)

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  13. Sewing PrincessOctober 3, 2012 at 4:22 AM

    I love that you shared about Japanese culture and Pupurika. Sounds like fun thing to do. It's great you spent time with your sister too. feel free to share more about Japan...I love to read

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