Purikura プリクラ - Japanese Photo Booths • 2 comments • After some impressive miming and horrendous pronunciation of Japanese words around Akihabara, we were pointed in the right direction and these glorious images were the result. Shut up, they're not creepy at all! Snapchat (and now Instagram Stories) has essentially rendered the novelty of these obsolete, but I had to do this while we were visiting Japan and dragged Alex along... I want to say he's a good sport but I know he had just as much fun as I did. There is an entire culture surrounding purikura, that has been explained extensively elsewhere, so I'll include a few links below if you're interested in learning more or looking for inspiration to seek out one of the booths during your next trip to Tokyo. The experience of making these photo strips is so much more exciting than gazing into your phone camera. - Mina (◡‿◡✿) (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ** What is Purikura? Some behind the scenes pictures, cost info., and a 360° view ** **How to Purikura Like a Pro** Allegedly, the "ultimate guide" (I didn't read it) **A somewhat instructional video** The screens move fast and you have to follow the posing prompts, then run from the green screen room to the decorating room.... **How to get Purikura on your phone** (This is obviously complicated if you don't speak Japanese... lucky for me, Alex found it more intuitive than I did and made it happen without instructions) (˵◕ ɛ ◕˵✿)
Akihabara • 1 comments • In search of the famous Purikura Japanese photo booths, we made our way to Akihabara - the area of Tokyo where these strange machines are located. It was an adventure trying to explain what we were looking for to anyone who would listen. We got distracted by some shops and then pulled into the obnoxiously loud, cigarette smoke-filled world of arcades. Alex garnered a little audience while playing a drumming game, but quickly got bored and gave his lives to some kid. This neighbourhood would be a dream for gamers, cosplayers, and possibly pervs. We probably would have enjoyed it more if we were any of those things, but it was interesting to check out anyway. Did we find the photo booths? You'll have to stay tuned to find out. - Mina
Genki Sushi | Tokyo • 5 comments • Conveyor Belt Sushi in North America is probably a terrible idea, but in Japan even this cheap spot had sashimi that was better than most sushi in San Francisco. At 129 Yen for 2 pieces of nigiri, we may have gone back to this cute restaurant more than once. The color of the plate determines the price of what's on it, but I think even the priciest pick was only 259 Yen ($2.15 USD when we visited). There's all you can drink green tea, and games you can play on the screen. I also love their grumpy logo; it speaks to me. - Mina P.S. I posted a video from our visit in my instagram stories today. See it here.
