Purikura and Korean Photo Booths in Osaka:
What Differs
What is purikura, and how is it different from a Korean-style photo booth? Purikura (プリクラ) is the Japanese name for a photo sticker machine: it prints your shots onto a sheet of stickers, and some models let you add text and stamps on a screen once the shooting is over. A Korean-style photo booth prints a tall paper strip with several shots lined up on it, and you pick the design of the frame. Both make a small keepsake of a day out; what you take home is the part that changes.
I am Korean and run three Korean bars in Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Osaka. This page sets the two machines side by side, gives you the Japanese and Korean words for them, and ends with somewhere to sit and look through the photos once evening comes.
Purikura vs a Korean-style photo booth, side by side
Machines vary from one model to the next, so read the table as a general picture rather than a rule that every booth follows.
| Point | Japanese purikura | Korean-style photo booth |
|---|---|---|
| What comes out | A sheet of photo stickers | A paper print: a tall strip with several shots in a row |
| After the shooting | Some models let you write and add stamps on screen (called 落書き, rakugaki, “doodling”) | You choose the frame design |
| What people call it | プリクラ, or for short プリ and プリ機 | 네컷사진 or 포토부스 in Korean |
If your group cannot agree on one, there is no need to: they hand you different kinds of souvenir. What helps more is knowing what each one is called, which is the next table.
Words to know: プリクラ, 네컷사진 and photo booth
| Language | Word | Reading and what it refers to |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | プリクラ | purikura, the photo sticker machine and the stickers it prints |
| Japanese | プリ / プリ機 | puri / puri-ki, shorter ways of saying the same thing; 機 means “machine” |
| Korean | 네컷사진 | ne-keot sajin, “four-cut photo”, named after the layout with four shots that many of these booths use |
| Korean | 포토부스 | potobuseu, the loanword for “photo booth” |
| Korean | 스티커 사진 | seutikeo sajin, “sticker photo”, a Korean way of describing the Japanese sticker machine |
| English | photo booth | The general word that covers both |
So when a Korean friend suggests a 네컷사진 and a Japanese friend suggests プリ, they are proposing two different machines, and both fall under the English word “photo booth”.
Before you go: check the place on Google Maps
This page leaves out booth names and addresses on purpose. Where the machines are, when they open, and how many people can squeeze in all change from one machine and one facility to another, so the reliable answer is the one you look up on the day.
- Location and opening hours. Search on Google Maps, or open the facility’s official website, on the day you plan to go.
- Closing time, if you are going in the evening. Look up when the building or facility shuts before you set out, so the photos do not get squeezed out of the plan.
- How many of you there are. The number of people allowed in a booth differs by machine, so check it if you are a larger group.
After the photos: our three Korean bars, open from 21:00
Once the strips and stickers are in your bag, the evening still has a few hours in it. Our three bars sit on upper floors of buildings in Higashi-Shinsaibashi 2-chome, a short walk from one another, and both Shinsaibashi Station and Namba Station are within walking distance. Korean staff work at each one, K-POP is playing, and the menu is Korean drinks: soju, makgeolli and somaek.
We do not serve food at any of the three bars, so plan dinner first and come to us for drinks and conversation afterwards. All three open every day from 21:00 to 05:00, all year round, and no reservation is needed; if you want to book or ask something ahead of time, phone us or send an Instagram DM. You can settle up by credit card or in cash at all three. Guests must be 20 or older to enter, and if you have had a drink, please get home without driving. On Google Maps, each bar is rated 4.9, from 2,844 reviews for HEAVEN, 380 for 韓国バーMOON and 678 for SARANG (as of September 2026).
| The kind of night you want | Bar | Inside, in short |
|---|---|---|
| Pass the photos round with friends and talk quietly, or come alone | SARANG | A quiet bar, fully non-smoking, mostly counter seats, no karaoke |
| Settle into lounge seats around a shisha | 韓国バーMOON | Lounge seating with shisha, a karaoke machine, indoor smoking permitted |
| Sing as a group | HEAVEN | Karaoke, plus darts you can play at no extra cost; indoor smoking permitted |
If you would like help choosing, the three-bar chooser narrows it down in a few taps.
HEAVEN
For a group that wants to sing: karaoke and darts free to use; smoking allowed indoors.
5F Galaxy Building No.3, 2-4-19 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Open in Google MapsMOON
Lounge seats around a shisha, with karaoke available; smoking allowed indoors.
3F LUXE Building Naka Room, 2-8-6 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Open in Google MapsSARANG
Quiet and fully non-smoking, mostly counter seats and no karaoke; easy for friends or for one.
Room 206, Gold Center Building, 2-8-12 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Open in Google Maps.png)
Questions about purikura and photo booths in Osaka
Q. What does purikura mean?
It is the Japanese name for a photo sticker machine and for the sticker sheets it prints. In conversation it is also shortened to プリ (puri), and the machine itself can be called プリ機 (puri-ki).
Q. What is a Korean photo booth called in Korean?
네컷사진 (ne-keot sajin, “four-cut photo”) or 포토부스 (potobuseu, “photo booth”). The four-cut name comes from the layout of four shots on one strip that many of these booths use.
Q. Is a Korean-style photo booth the same thing as purikura?
Not quite. Purikura prints stickers, and some machines let you doodle on the shots afterwards. A Korean-style booth prints a paper strip, and you choose the frame. In Korean, the Japanese sticker machine is sometimes called 스티커 사진.
Q. Where can I find a photo booth in Shinsaibashi?
Look it up on Google Maps or on the official website of the facility on the day. Locations, opening hours and how many people fit in a booth differ by machine and facility, so a fresh search is more reliable than any list.
Q. Can I take photos in the evening and then go for a drink?
Yes, as long as you check the facility’s closing time first. Our three bars in Higashi-Shinsaibashi open at 21:00 every day and stay open until 05:00.
Q. Is there somewhere calm to sit and look through the photos?
SARANG is quiet and fully non-smoking, built around counter seats, and it suits a small group of friends or one person on their own.
Q. Do your bars serve meals?
They serve drinks only, so eat before you come. Korean staff pour soju, makgeolli and somaek, and anyone under 20 cannot enter.
Bar information is from Google Maps (as of September 2026). For where photo booths are and when they open, check each facility’s official information or Google Maps.