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MONTHLY NEWS April 1997 Recent Hit Products Among Japanese Teenagers |
A popular pastime among Japanese teenage girls these days is getting together with friends to have their photo taken with the Print Club, a machine that produces 16 tiny gummed labels of the photos complete with decorative, often humorous borders.
Called Purikura for short, the instant sticker-making machine has been popular since July 1995. A sheet of personalized photo labels costs just 300 yen (U.S. $2.50), and it takes just a few minutes for the machine to produce the labels. |
More than 6,000 Purikura machines have been installed at game arcades, train stations, and other places around the country.
A new twist on the Purikura theme is the Sutakura, or Stamp Club, which is also aimed mainly at teenage girls. Instead of labels, the machine produces a rubber stamp of one's face. |
Even more popular than either the Purikura or the Sutakura, though, is the Tamagotchi, a portable computer game shaped like an egg (tamago). Priced at 1,980 yen (U.S. $16.50), the electronic toy is a "virtual pet" that hatches, grows up, and eventually dies. The owner must provide these electronic creatures plenty of tender loving care in feeding and cleaning up after them.
Over 750,000 Tamagotchi units have been sold as of the end of January 1997 since debuting in November 1996.
Photos: (top) A sheet of personalized labels, ready for pasting on one's belongings. (middle) Many Purikura machines can be found in front of video game arcades. (above) The Tamagotchi is an inexpensive virtual pet that is sweeping the nation. (Kyodo) 
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