Among entertainments  that Tokyo offers, certainly the most curious for all the foreigners visiting this city is the KARAOKE! 

I think in any part of the world as there are facilities for Karaoke like in Japan. Certainly singing along with the words on a screen is a common practice everywhere, but in Japan goes far beyond! There are whole buildings of several floors, full of small rooms where people go to sing! The feeling is to be in a hotel , where you can choose your room type,a small one or a big one, for 2 or more people, with round or square tables, there are even large rooms with a small theatrical stage to recreate the feeling of singing for an audience.

Singing at Karaoke, for the Japanese is not only a moment of relaxation! Widespread is the practice of organizing meetings between businessmen in special rooms for Karaoke, then celebrating, singing, the success of a trade agreement! Especially it is important to know that the practice of Karaoke is taken very seriously from everyone in Japan. It is NOT important the personal tone, but the diligence that each one brings to sing the song. From beginning to end! Never interrupt a song if you’re singing along with some Japanese! That said, it’s easy to find in the corridors of the buildings of karaoke business men just trying to practice for the songs that will sing in front of the leaders of their company!

In Tokyo there are several chains offering Karaoke services. Among the most famous there are SHIDAX, BIG ECHO and KARAOKE KAN. In all these chains as you sings you can order drinks or food, and the fee system is by hours, with supplements every half an hour of longer occupation of the room! It  is very important to know that Karaoke has different prices depending on time of day you want to go and sing! The morning and afternoon is a lot cheaper, while the evening can get pretty expensive! My advice for the evening, which is the moment generally preferred by everyone, is not to exceed 2 hours stay and not to abuse ordering spirits! Otherwise it becomes expensive like a bottle of good Champagne in a top class restaurant!

Once inside you’ll find a tablet like the iPad, where you can search songs organized by artist, by name, sometimes by language, but usually there are songs in English and Japanese. By default the keyboard that appears on the tablet is character-Japanese, often in the lower left corner  there is a system folder (such as those that appear on top of the screen when you surf the internet and show you all the pages you have open ) that enables other alphabet keyboards to request the song! Once you find your one the song starts and appears on the screen! Remember to turn off the lights while you sing! When the room light is off, automatically colored lights starts following the rhythm of the song you‘re singing! On the screen of the tablet is also possible to change the tone of the song to bring it closer to your own voice! Usually it is a button with the arrows and dots like this: <…………………. >

To me, the chain that offers better price / quality ratio is definitely Karaoke Kan, and it is also the most widespread in Tokyo! The rooms are perhaps less pretty  ( in Shidax each floor is themed, and you can find you in a room with the submarine porthole ) but almost all foreign songs are updated.
Don’t be afraid to try the Karaoke in Japan, once you try it you can understand why it’s so successfull in that country …..