Karaoke in Japan

Perhaps the greatest invention of all time and the best form of entertainment in Japan...Karaoke! You are perhaps wondering why this has never appeared in the blog before. It was a shocking absence. But after a late night Wednesday karaoke marathon the situation had to be remedied.

Karaoke in Japan is all that you dreamed and more. With a number of friends you can pay for a private room for 1, 2, 3 or all night karaoke sessions. Usually this includes free drinks until the bar closes around 3 am. The drinks are usually syrupy concoctions but you can request straight liqueur and visit the equally free soda machine to create your own cocktails. Prices are incredibly reasonable. Some people will even pay for an all night karaoke booth over a hotel room in a big city if they are planning a late night anyway.

Every karaoke bar has a book that includes English songs. There may not be the greatest selection but you can always find the classics as well as a surprising amount of new songs. Everyone has a personal favorite and unlike traditional karaoke bars in the west, Gloria Gaynor, Grease melodies and Shania Twain will only make rare appearances. Instead you can butcher your favorite songs with plenty of time to choose them and no one to impress but your equally embarrassing friends.

The booths can fit up to 10 or 15 in most places. Usually I end up with around 5 to 7 people. Food can be ordered, although the pictures are bigger than the servings and the cheesy bread is really bread and a shot glass of congealed mysterious cheese-substitute. One of the greatest experiences to try is room crashing - which involves sneaking past the staff and into another karaoke room to see if they'd like you to join them for a rollicking number. Language barriers can be a problem as it is much more difficult than you can imagine to sing in another language. But the experience can be a lot of fun with drunken Japanese singers excited to practice their English with the foreign visitor. Be warned however, the karaoke staff will not look fondly on this interruption and will scold you back to your room. I always feign innocence - Where's my room?

Big Echo and Joy Joy are the two most famous karaoke bars (at least in my area of Nagoya). Big Echo is much fancier with massaging chairs and more interesting videos, but it is Joy Joy with its cheap beverages and ridiculous homemade videos that has captured my heart. (As you sing Creep by Radiohead, a young man will appear on screen sadly strumming his guitar while his girlfriend searches him out in an ominous city...several songs later while crooning to Barbie Girl this same young man will appear to be chased down by his poor girlfriend again. At least this is how it seems to me).

When you visit Japan, Karaoke should be in the top ten list of things to do. No matter how terrible your singing voice you will have an amazing time. Believe me, I speak from experience.