Karaoke Bars

Karaoke bars probably established their roots in the early twentieth century in Japan during the Taisho rule. “Utagoe Kissa,” or “coffee shop,” became popular with customers who tried out their singing talents backed up by music from a live band. Soon, the trend caught up with the rest of the world, and karaoke bars are now the ideal place for fun and unwinding after a hardday’s work.

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his form of entertainment has been popular in East Asia for two decades. Musical entertainment has always been a permanent fixture at parties in Japan. It is noteworthy that singing and dancing was considered an integral part of a samurai warrior’s growth. ‘‘Utagoe Kissa’’ or ‘song coffee shop’ in direct translation, became a rage in Japan during the Taisho rule (1912 -1926), where customers used to test out their singing skills backed up by music from a live band.

In the 1970s, a singer named Daisuke Inoue who performed in a coffee shop was inundated with requests to lend his recordings so that people could sing along with them. Inoue realized that he could make money in this potentially lucrative venture and invented a tape recorder that played a song for a coin worth 100-yen. This was the birth of the karaoke machine. Initially, this form of entertainment was criticized for its unoriginality and its exorbitant price. In those days, a 100 yen could buy two lunches. However, it was gradually accepted into the main stream, and Inoue was given the Nobel Prize for his invention in 2004.

Early on, cassette tapes were used in the machine; but with technology, VCDs, CDs and DVDs gradually took the place of tapes. Karaoke soon spread to the rest of Asia and eventually the United States and other Western countries. Though it met with the expected disapproval from certain quarters, it has slowly become a great form of nightclub entertainment.

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If you are looking for the newest place to stay, shop and dine in Japan then check out Tokyo Midtown. Tokyo Midtown, located in Akasaka was completed just this March. It is already very popular and is especially well-known for having the tallest building in Tokyo as well as Tokyo’s newest park and the Suntory Museum.

Tokyo Midtown is as stylish as it can get and is made of six buildingsamidst lush greenery. The “town” features facilities such as stores, restaurants, offices, hotels, museums and even its own hospital. It was built with the goal of making the most out of the last remaining 10 hectares of land located in the very heart of Tokyo. It seems that the developers were indeed successful at realizing their goals and has made Tokyo Midtown a place where one can dwell, relax, have fun, shop, and even work. They have indeed created a town of functional diversity.

The Takayama Festival is held annually at the Hie-Jinja Shrine in Shiroyama,Takayama City is considered to be one of the most beautiful festivals is Japan. The festival is most known for its Tokeiraku parade wherein people wearing costumes and bells drum a beat for dancers who dance the shishimai lion dance. The parade of people is followed by an equally if not more spectacular sight as the yatais(floats), featuring clever contrivances like marionettes, come into view. The contrivances showcased by the yatais are not ordinary ones since they make use of the technologies that existed in Japan during the Edo Period (from the 17th to the 19th century).

Karaoke bars probably established their roots in the early twentieth century in Japan during the Taisho rule. “Utagoe Kissa,” or “coffee shop,” became popular with customers who tried out their singing talents backed up by music from a live band. Soon, the trend caught up with the rest of the world, and karaoke bars are now the ideal place for fun and unwinding after a hardday’s work.

This form of entertainment has been popular in East Asia for two decades. Musical entertainment has always been a permanent fixture at parties in Japan. It is noteworthy that singing and dancing was considered an integral part of a samurai warrior’s growth. ‘‘Utagoe Kissa’’ or ‘song coffee shop’ in direct translation, became a rage in Japan during the Taisho rule (1912 -1926), where customers used to test out their singing skills backed up by music from a live band.

In the 1970s, a singer named Daisuke Inoue who performed in a coffee shop was inundated with requests to lend his recordings so that people could sing along with them. Inoue realized that he could make money in this potentially lucrative venture and invented a tape recorder that played a song for a coin worth 100-yen. This was the birth of the karaoke machine. Initially, this form of entertainment was criticized for its unoriginality and its exorbitant price. In those days, a 100 yen could buy two lunches. However, it was gradually accepted into the main stream, and Inoue was given the Nobel Prize for his invention in 2004.

Early on, cassette tapes were used in the machine; but with technology, VCDs, CDs and DVDs gradually took the place of tapes. Karaoke soon spread to the rest of Asia and eventually the United States and other Western countries. Though it met with the expected disapproval from certain quarters, it has slowly become a great form of nightclub entertainment.

Communal bathing was once popular in Britain. The Romans brought it to us heathens along with things like straight roads and walls which, up until then, we English hadn't thought of. When the Romans finally headed home we decided to keep most of the infrastructure they left behind. However, the idea of fully-grown men sitting around in the bath together was just so foreign to us that "having mates around for some fun in the tub" was instantly erased from social agendas across the land.

There is also the issue of nakedness. English people keep their clothes on. Unlike our Mediterranean cousins nobody bathes topless on the British beaches. There are strict dress codes that we follow: don't mix spots and stripes, don't wear white socks with black shoes and above all don't sit around wearing nothing more than a grin.

This leaves the Englishman in Japan with a dilemma because, one day, you are going to have to take the plunge and visit an onsen.

The lady at the front desk took my money and then gave me a white towel along with a quizzical look. A lone gaijin heading to the hot springs was obviously not a common occurrence. Armed with nothing more than my new towel I remembered the advice of my friend, Wataru: "Always get clean before getting into the pools." Entering a deserted washing area, I came across the riddle of the two buckets and three bottles. The showers were all at waist rather than head height which seemed a little bizarre until I figured out that one of the buckets was a seat and you do your washing sitting not standing. The three bottles had different kanji printed on them. I worked out their contents by trial and error. Once I had put the liquid soap in my hair, and rubbed my whole body with hair conditioner I pretty much knew which was which. Squeaky clean and smelling like a florists I slid back the panel doors and made my way into the main part of the onsen.

The towel had turned out to be no bigger than a handkerchief but holding it at waist level I tried to blend in with the rest of the customers.

Blending in turned out to be a little trickier than I had expected. Being tall, blue eyed and foreign meant I already stood out. I was also the only person without the tiny towel on his head. Wataru had failed to mention the towel was to soak in cold water and keep my head cool rather than as a device for maintaining modesty. What Wataru had also omitted was that you should never just step straight into the deep end of a pool. Especially, one with clouds of steam rising from it. All attempts at trying to remain inconspicuous suddenly became futile. It turns out, it is practically impossible to ignore the sight of a foreigner stepping into the hottest pool at the onsen. I dropped my towel, burst out of the water yelping and then did what some locals thought was an impromptu version of a Highland fling.

After summer rains bring unrelenting heat and humidity to prefectures throughout Japan, donning a heavy kimono for social occasions becomes a dreaded thought and task. In lieu of the layers of fabric required for traditional kimono, many in Japan opt to wear yukata during the nation’s stifling summers.

As opposed to the heavy silk or synthetic fabrics used to make kimono, yukata are woven from lightweight cotton and are not lined. Though traditional yukata feature indigo designs, modern conventions place almost no limit on the colors available. Young females can often be found sporting bright yellow or rosy pink varieties (with matching accessories, of course), while children can be seen attired in yukata emblazoned with popular characters such as Hello Kitty. Older individuals usually opt for more reserved designs, but the footwear of choice for all wearers are elevated wooden sandals called geta.

The word yukata comes from yu, meaning bath, and katabira, meaning under clothing. Originally, these summer duds were used exclusively by nobility following a bath. As time wore on and bathhouses became more commonplace, yukata became a part of the traditional attire at onsen and sentō. Today, most ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) still provide one for walking between the bathhouse and other buildings, though such varieties often feature only a simple sash for closure, as opposed to the more ornate obi belts used to secure the yukata of festival-goers.

On Okinawa, sightings of yukata-clad nihonjin (whose garments often feature local bingata designs) can most easily be had during the annual Orion Beer Festival each August. In other parts of Japan, yukata are common attire for fireworks displays, Obon events, and shrine matsuri.

Want a yukata of your own or one to give as a gift? Fine yukata are available at Mitsukoshi Department Store on Kokusai Street. For more economical versions, head to your local San-A or Jusco.

In a country that revels in miniaturization; mini-discs, micro-cars and amazingly small cell phones reign supreme. However, the more traditional side of Japan appears to have a love for things somewhat larger. Sumo wrestlers, mountains and koi carp all seem to be valued on a bigger is better principle. Surprisingly the same system is also used for Japanese kites. Whereas kite flying in England tendsto be done by the young on a blustery day in the park, in Japan it is the chance for a team of men to build a huge fighting machine. The behemoth kite is then sent up into the sky to battle with other aerial monsters in what is best described as a heavenly bar fight.

The kites are made of a bamboo frame covered in paper and then painted with samurai faces, lucky symbols and even sake logos. The medium-sized ones could easily drape over two cars parked side-by-side and the largest ones would probably appear as blips on the radar of Japanese air traffic control.

In the small rural town I visited, locals take their kites once a year to either side of the river and teams of up to thirty men grab the thick towropes. Accompanied by shouts, grunts and whistles the men hurl the kites into the air and begin running frantically along the riverbank. Five or six kites are launched at the same time, and the frenzied runners try to steer them into each other. The last kite flying is declared the victor.

The kites had incredibly short life expectancies for creations that had probably taken days if not weeks or months to build. Some quickly gained height before rotating through 180 degrees and then crashing down into the river or onto the heads of hapless runners or spectators. Other kites due to congested riverbanks or unfit runners never reached soaring speed and instead stalled and similarly crashed back to earth. The “lucky” ones that managed to stay up long enough to meet in mid air, tangled their ropes and not surprisingly collided into one another. The entwined kites then plummeted together to join the other less successful kites lying in pieces on the grass or river surface. I am pretty sure that no kite ever got to defend its title, as even the victorious drifted off downstream along with the rest of the floating debris.

Fortunately, the teams didn’t seem overly concerned about who won or lost, and afterwards all the competitors and spectators (some with kite induced minor head injuries) headed for the local izakaya. There everyone got down to the more serious business of eating raw sea critters. The drinking competitions continued until some had collapsed while others had come up with innovative ideas for their next kite.

Around the world singers sing, actors act, models model and chat show hosts chat. Although, there are a few exceptions, like Bowie and Sting, the general rule is that entertainers have just the one job.

Japan is a little harder to understand. Take Katori Shingo for example. Over a twenty-four hour period, Shingo has more personas than Barbie. There is the singing and dancing boy bandShingo, TV Shingo (where he hosts the show SMAP SMAP), comedian Shingo, quiz-show contestant Shingo and English teacher Shingo. After that, you have to add Shingo’s alter ego Shingo Mama, the apronned housewife who sings, solves world problems and taught Japan how to sign “O – Ha.”

Then there is Morning Musume, the biggest girl group in Japan. The members of the band seem to change from week to week as girls arrive and leave. Just like Shingo, the girls have other roles as TV actors, models, solo singers, mini-group singers, game show contestants, and representatives for “Pocky” and air conditioners. It makes you wonder how they ever have time to write songs or practice singing. This may be the reason that, before I came to Japan, I hadn’t heard of one Japanese pop group.

Things seem to be changing. In December 2001, Time magazine had a “music goes global” special. On the front cover was Utada Hikaru. Although, she juggles her career with being a student at Colombia University, she does write most of her own material. The Rush hour 2 soundtrack included one of her songs, which means that it may not be long until she breaks into the American market. In the same magazine, Japan’s “Brilliant Green” was listed as one of the ten best bands on planet Earth. (England’s Radiohead and Portishead also made the list.) Recently, Matsumoto, the lead guitarist of B’z, was given the honor of having a Gibson signature guitar named after him.

One day Japanese pop music may spread across the world. English people will turn on their radio and listen to the likes of Ayumi Hamasaki and Da Pump. It wouldn’t even surprise me if the radio show host turned out to be D.J. Katori Shingo.