karaoke time! カラオケタイムだ！ (Ueno)

Posted by timothy sullivan (Tokyo, Japan) on 9 July 2009 in Lifestyle & Culture.

Karaoke. You've seen it in Lost in Translation. And maybe you've even done it. But the interesting thing is: Karaoke in Asia --often done with friends in a private "karaoke box" room-- is completely different from its Western kin.

The Japanese routine is pretty simple: Order a room (being mindful that they're often rented by the half-hour in the evening), order pints, and start thumbing through the pages of melodies and wondering what to key in next. Some of my friends, already knowing the numbered code of their song, would just plop down on the pleather sofa and enter in their specialties. (Or at least something to kick off a good evening--and always remembering to do some "Eye of the Tiger" or some Boston, and of course finishing with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

And even if your voice is better in the shower, y'just drink another beer and remember: Karaoke is a portmanteau for "empty orchestra" -- substance isn't the concern; having fun is.

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Partial display of karaoke places in greater Tokyo >>

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