When it comes to nightlife in Japan’s cities, karaoke is one of the city’s all-time favourite activities. Karaoke was invented in Japan, the name coming from the Japanese ‘kara‘, which means ’empty’, and ‘oke‘, from ōkesutora, or ‘orchestra’. The joys of singing aloud to pre-recorded music has already taken over corner of the earth – but Japan is still one of the best places to enjoy karaoke!
In the late 1960’s, the first commercial karaoke machines went on sale in Japan. Since then, the formula is basically the same – singing along to prerecorded music with a microphone, and lyrics to help! Today, it’s firmly part of Japanese entertainment culture, and appeals to a wide variety of people.
So, what makes Japanese style karaoke extra special?
Karaoke is Everywhere!
Karaoke is super popular throughout Tokyo (and most other parts of Japan), and venues are easy to locate. Some karaoke businesses are chains, such as Big Echo, Karaoke-Kan, Uta Hiroba, or Cote d’Azur. These are usually the best options for visitors to Tokyo, because they offer the biggest and most up-to-date range of English songs. They are easy to find, sometimes occupying entire buildings.
Karaoke venues are usually open around 11am to 3am the next morning, but can go even later on weekends. Karaoke places are usually nearby to train stations, for easy travel back home after a long night singing.
Private Karaoke Rooms
Japanese karaoke venues have private karaoke rooms for their guests, catering for small parties right up to large groups of 20 people or more. Inside each room are two microphones, a large screen, couches and a table for drinks. Accessories such as tambourines and maracas are sometimes available, and remotes are provided to adjust the volume and add vocal effects.
While private rooms for karaoke is the norm in Tokyo, it’s still possible to find old-style karaoke bars, with the patrons of the bar as the audience. These venues, called sunakku, (phonetically like the English ‘snack’) still exist in Tokyo’s entertainment districts.
Hitokara (Venues for Singing Karaoke Alone)
For those who want to sing karaoke, but don’t want an audience, Hitokara are private karaoke booths designed for one person. They aren’t necessarily for shy singers; they’re a great idea for people who want to practice their vocals for a band or the next group karaoke session!
There are many Hitokara venues in Japan, such as OneKara, one of the most popular.
Food and drink
One of the best things about karaoke in Japan is food and drinks, brought right to your room. Most venues have menus in each room, and a phone to the reception or app to order snacks and drinks, including alcohol. Many sessions come as packages with drinks included.
Rice and noodle dishes, edamame, chicken karaage, takoyaki, even pizza and fries are popular food items. Cocktails, sake, choyu, beer and soft drink are usually on the drinks menu.
Song Selection in Many Languages
Tokyo karaoke venues have – unsurprisingly – a huge selection of great Japanese music to choose from. Catering to a wide audience that includes plenty of tourists, expats, and fans of western music, there is a large library of English songs on offer. Korean and Chinese pop songs are usually available too. Even if you don’t speak Japanese, its well worth searching through the Japanese catalogue, because some gems are hidden in there (who remembers PPAP)!
Songs are chosen directly from the karaoke computer, or codes keyed in from a catalogue. Adding more selections will queue the songs up after the current song finishes.
With every song that is played, a music video accompanies the music and lyrics. However, because permission to use official music videos is usually not allowed, random video footage (usually hilariously obscure!) is played instead.
Flexible Singing Hours
Booking a karaoke room is usually done with a limit of a certain number of hours. When your time is up, many venues offer ‘free time’, which is a fixed fee at the end of the night that let you stay until closing time!
Karaoke in Tokyo is usually charged in half hour blocks for private rooms. Prices differ, but are usually around ¥500 for 30 minutes (US$3.50-$4).
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Karaoke is one of the most fun activites to do in Tokyo, or anywhere else in Japan for that matter! When the locals sing, they always give karaoke their all (no matter if you’re a good singer or not), so don’t be shy and have fun!
StickyMangoRice 