In the early 2000s, journalist Iwashita Kumiko (岩下久美子) coined the term Ohitorisama おひとりさま in her book of the same name. Sure, you might just want to practice, but there is a larger culture of solo karaoke that most people outside Japan don't know about. Japan's One Person Karaoke Culture おひとりさま The idea of a woman living at a comfortable distance from others, so she can become more successful in her career and love life.īefore we talk about our experience at 1Kara, I think it's worth explaining why Japanese people go to karaoke alone. Koichi, Sean, Viet, and I ( Mami) visited a location in Shinjuku to see if singing alone is as wonderful as people in Japan say it is.
#LET IT GO JAPANESE KARAOKE PROFESSIONAL#
Managed by Koshidaka Holdings, 1Kara is a place where you can rent a karaoke box sized for the solitary and filled with professional audio recording equipment. That's exactly why 1Kara was created.īut what if you want to sing all by your lonesome? It's common for people in Japan to go to karaoke alone, though a whole room can feel empty when you're singing solo. It's common for people in Japan to go to karaoke alone, though a whole room can feel empty when you're singing solo. It's perfect for people who love singing, but don't love performing in front of strangers. Some places even offer nice desserts! I go to a place that has soda and ice cream included in the price, so we make melon soda floats all the time.When you go to karaoke in Japan, you usually rent a small room with your friends and sing the night away by yourselves. As far as food goes, there are lots of finger foods, ramen, pizza, fried foods, etc. Don’t drink if you’re underage, you can get in trouble. “Can I drink? What food is available?” YES! You can drink as long as you’re 20 and over. Karaoke can really help with your reading skills if you let it! So try some songs in Japanese!
They offer Korean, Japanese, Popular American Pop songs, and even some old stuff! I personally always sing some Disney, Utada, and a mix of whatever I’m trying to learn in Japanese.
If you get nomihoudai, from my experience when we accidentally got charged, it was about $40. I pay anywhere from $10-$20 every time I go, and that’s everyone paying for their share equally when I go to karaoke. For me, I would rather just go and have fun, I don’t really care about having fancy food or dressing up. It all really depends on the place you go, and what you want to do. “Is it expensive?” This is also a yes and no answer. You won’t always be on key, or know the words, but neither will anybody else, so let yourself go and enjoy the experience! The best part is, I always look forward to singing at karaoke now. However, the second time I went out for karaoke, I just went with it, and had lots of fun. My first time, I was overwhelmed by just BEING in Japan so I didn’t sing that much. The reality is, you aren’t going there to be a superstar, you are going in order to have fun singing with friends. At first, you may think you need to be the world’s next Mariah Carey. I’m all for the cheapest possible option because I’m a college student!įor the first question I had in America, “Would I get shy?”. But we usually just choose the soda bar, and order a plate of food to share. I just don’t have the experience of going there yet.įor me personally, I like to go for about 3 hours with some friends, my favorite place offers a soda bar, 飲み放題 nomihoudai, and food. Each karaoke place may also offer 飲み放題（のみほうだい）nomihoudai or bottomless cup, all you can drink rates, a simple soda and ice cream bar, costumes, and food! I am sure there are some more amenities that are offered. However, I’m sure if you have a coupon, the rates could get even lower. They charge by the hour, I think about 2-3 hours is a good amount of time. This is before people get off work and the rates increase for the night time singers. For those on a budget, during the week, and during the day is the best time to go. In Japan, the walls are pretty thin, so it’s not like you can just belt out Utada Hikaru whenever you want. It depends on where you go, what time of the day, and which day of the week you want to go sing your heart out. I will attempt to share what I have learned in the three months I have lived here regarding karaoke, because it turned out to be a really fun, and great bonding opportunity with friends! I always wondered what Karaoke would be like would I get shy, would it be expensive, what songs would they have, could I drink, what food was available? So, if you’re like me, when I was in America we didn’t have Japanese style karaoke places where I live.
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