Experience Japan’s Hottest Karaoke Solo Adventure – Even Has A-Mei’s “I Don’t Mind”

Text and photos by /Annie

I’ve wanted to sing karaoke in Japan for a long time. I’d heard that karaoke in Japan is quite cheap compared to Taiwan, so this time, while in Kyoto, I finally had the chance to try it out.

It seems that solo karaoke is pretty popular in Japan, so before my trip, I searched online for karaoke spots in Kyoto that offer solo booths.

The first one that popped up was Ichikara Jan-Kara (Jumbo Karaoke^?。?? located in the Shimogyo district of Kyoto, which is especially great because they have a good selection of Chinese songs.

Once inside, you go to the counter to tell the staff how many people will be singing, how long you plan to stay, and which pricing plan you want. Then they give you a card, and you just pay when you’re ready to leave.

The KTV room looks like this – the overall environment is quite bright.

There’s a free drink area.

Actually, the free options are pretty diverse.

They give you such a big room for solo use – isn’t that amazing? This booth can probably fit about four people.

It was my first time singing karaoke in Japan, and I wasn’t familiar with all the machines, so it took me a bit of time to get the hang of it.

There’s no songbook to browse – you just use the touchscreen to select your songs.

Don’t worry if you can’t sing Japanese songs – there are plenty of Chinese songs here too.

After watching the Kanjani Eight competition, I became really interested in karaoke scoring machines. This karaoke place has several scoring system options to choose from.

This time, I went with Precision Scoring 2.

The karaoke lyrics include furigana, so there generally aren’t any major issues reading them.

After you finish singing, it even calculates how many calories you’ve burned. If you’re trying to lose weight, try singing MISIA’s “Everything” – guaranteed to help you shed some pounds.

Then comes the nerve-wracking part: the score results. My score was pretty low, just 79. Next time, I’ll go shout by the Kamo River to warm up my vocals before singing.

A reminder window pops up on the screen when your time is almost up. After you’re done, just take your card back to the counter to pay. This time, an hour of singing cost 420 yen, which is about 125 NT$, and overall, the price is really quite affordable.

[Ichikara Kawaramachi Main Store]
http://jankara.ne.jp/shop/104/

Annie @ Travel Food Play
Returning to the essence of travel