Japanese Sticker Machines

You know those Japanese Neoprint sticker machines that were all the rage back in the 90s?

When they first came out, I was so fascinated by them because I could never understand how people could justify spending wasting so much money and stick them all over their books.
Those stickers ain’t cheap at all. For whopping cost of RM25, all you get is a photo of you and your friends badly printed on a pathetically small piece of sticker about the size of two credit cards. As if that’s not small enough, you have to use a pair of scissors to cut the freaking small piece of sticker into even FREAKINGLY SMALLER PIECES OF STICKERS because you’re supposed to share them with your friends.

Add to that is the experience of going through the machine and have it guide you in one of those annoyingly cartoonish “kawaii” Japanese voice.
Most of the time, you don’t understand what the hell those idiots are rambling on about.
And when you finally figured it out, the countdown timer finishes and the stupid computer automatically chooses for you an option you didn’t even freaking want in the first place.

This was from 6 years ago. Damn, I looked like a mannequin.
Despite all that, I’m still really fascinated by these sticker machines. We never had something like that before in Kuching. The only experience I got was during my student days in Australia. Those in Perth would remember this old place next to Billy Lee’s Restaurant in Northbridge that was closed down after a while.

Anyway, I spotted these sticker machines again when I was in Singapore over last weekend. nadnut and I were at Cineleisure (Estee called it “Sini Pleasure”, which made it sound like some dodgy hooker den) and the dazzling pink neon lights attracted us. We went in there on an impulse and plonked SGD$11 on the table.
I was amused by how advanced these machines have turned into. You could even use a touchscreen pen to draw or add icons onto your pictures. How cool is that?
I didn’t know what nadnut was trying to do, but she scribbled some nonsense on her side. Five minutes later, the pictures came out like this.


Oi! How dare you! Lim peh is macho man ok!


This was on Hitz.fm earlier this week. Rudy and Junior (subbing in for JJ) were playing this game where they’re asking people to call in to find out their personal “theme song”. I SMSed and asked them “What would be the theme song for Kenny Sia?”
Rudy: What was his latest blog entry?
Junior: The last one I read was about him eating a snake in Vietnam.
Rudy: WHAT! What does it taste like?
Junior: He said it tasted like wheatgrass juice.
Rudy: Ewwww… I dunno man, but I think he need to “get it right” lah.
*’Get Right’ by Jennifer Lopez started playing*

77 Replies to “Japanese Sticker Machines”

  1. it’s your own fault. u didn’t “fully” button your shirt thatz why the bow tie is placed somewhere higher than where it should be.

  2. *sigh*… nowadays you sound more and more like a person twice your age.. you blog became more and more wu liao and you are not the same “Kenny Sia” … sad… post sth more interesting eh…

  3. aiyooo… those machines all over the place in kch dont knw how long ago lar. check the arcades, those ahlian shops selling hello kitty crap or whatever.
    i remember a few in tun jugah and random malls. arcades sure got one!!

  4. Somehow, I think the neoprint machines make you look like a hamsup paedo – the facial expression looks flatter than your normal pixes (both the six yrs ago and MinnieMouse ribbon ones!)…

  5. I’ve been forced by me friends to take photo in this booth thing. Man, what a waste of money when you can save more by using the ever-voiceless Photoshop…

  6. Yo, Sprite King is back,
    whoa, talk about nostalgia. U have to bring up good ol’ Perth and Northbridge. Man, chinatown is a sad state of affairs.
    Ahhh…..my coke honey is back. Catch ya later….peace out….

  7. Eh now very canggih already ok!! Metallic ink got also, that was like 5 years ago already… And basically they are coming up with so many new things (including the kawaii annoying voice, it gets more annoying as they’re more advance) curtains in the booth and you name it they sorta have it!! In Japan the most expensive is only 500 Yen which equivalent to RM 15 plus… 😛

  8. did u get a cheap machine ?
    coz the more expensive it is .. the more nice stuff u could add to ur pic
    nice ribbon though 😛

  9. SGD 11 & only one pic?
    There are better machines, SGD 8, 6 pics.
    Rawr but I think they are a waste of money too.
    But its fun. HAHA.
    A lot of girls I know LOVE these machines.

  10. THIS IS SOOOO FUNNY!!
    Kennysia the minnie..haha…lol!!
    But it is kinda expensive la. $11 is about RM22. Hmm..time passes by but the value aren’t changing much eh??!

  11. Hey Dude, these machines are still a hit in Asian populated American cities. It’s not a waste of money because money cannot buy the bonding of friendships. The moment you were with your friends in the booth, posing together and making the prints purty is priceless.

  12. “Those in Perth would remember this old place next to Billy Lee’s Restaurant in Northbridge that was closed down after a while.”
    Theres this place in Northbridge now, next to Nando’s, called Timezone, I don’t know if you had it during your time ;p

  13. walao wei..i also spend a lot of money for those freaking small yet cute sticker prints.its nice what..lol..kenny..u so very the macho in the sticker.hehehe…

  14. So good to read about your “bits & pieces” again! Prefer to read about all these little stuffs than the writeups during the give-away competition.
    You look adorable!

  15. hey, wats that place in northbridge called again? bloody asian hangout for kids to take those stupid neoprints. so sad, it closed down already?

  16. hahaha, when those sticker machines came out, I was in primary school and I stuck the photos in my friend’s autobiography books(which were all the rage in primary school). lol. And those days could only take one pose. -_-” btw, you have cute feminine facial features. 🙂

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