As an foreigner, I was very surprised by a lot of things when I came to Japan. Additionally, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about Japan, and for whatever it’s worth, I’m going to throw my two cents in.
Next to anime and sushi, karaoke is probably one of the first things that pop into your head when you think about Japan. I however was pleasantly surprised to find out how different it is from karaoke in America. Here, they don’t do it bars surrounded by a bunch of strangers, but rather in the more intimate setting of private rooms with your close friends.
Prices vary by how long and when you choose to go. Sometimes it’s $5 an hour on a weekday and other times it’s $30 from 12am to 5am with all you can drink. The rooms are usually cool looking and well decorated, but other times it looks like a musty grandma’s closet with a TV. It’s pretty much just the luck of the draw.
Aside from the normal price, you can also add “nomihodai” which means all you can drink. Of course the most obvious choice is with alcohol, but you can also get all-you-can-drink non-alcoholic beverages as well which consists of soda, tea, and slurpees. One note about the all-you-can-drink special is that if one person in the room gets it, everyone has to. During the few times that I went over summer break, we snuck in alcohol in backpacks which I highly recommend. The one time we got caught, they took the beer we were drinking but kept it ice cold for us at the front desk until we were done. Without hesitation we just opened up the rest we brought with no problems.
If you’re visiting here you have to experience karaoke at least once. Most of the signs you’ll see for it will be in katakana as opposed to English and will look like this: カラオケ. One of the major karaoke companies that can be found in major cities is called Big Echo. You may pay more there than anywhere else, but if you can’t read Japanese just look for that name. Also, don’t worry about the song selection. There are plenty of English songs. You can either ask the receptionist how to use the remote or just do some trial and error with the Japanese kanji.
