"Everyone must wear headphones when they sing and the music won't start unless the door is closed, so there is almost no sound leak no worries about other people listening to you." "We set this place up so that customers will feel as comfortable as possible," Terashima-san said. And even though there is a small window on each door, you can barely see the person inside. Sure, there was soft Muzak-style broadcasts in various places, but there was absolutely zero sound coming from any of the karaoke boxes! This is completely different from other karaoke places where you can hear customer voices pretty clearly. There was absolutely zero sound coming from any of the karaoke boxes! This is completely different from other karaoke places where you can hear customer voices pretty clearly.Īs we walked through the hallways, we were surprised by how quiet it was. It's just the right amount of space for one person.Īs we walked through the hallways, we were surprised by how quiet it was. In fact, each room is called a "pit" (short for cockpit) and the staff is called "the crew."Įach room is about 2.5 square meters (27 square feet), but they didn't feel cramped or stuffy. Entering a karaoke room feels like you're sitting at a control panel for some kind musical mission through the cosmos. 1Kara is designed to look like a spaceship, from the hallway to the karaoke rooms and everywhere else. The demand for hitokara is so high that the staff are giving up part of their office area just to accommodate more customers.Īfter storing our bags, Terashima started the tour. He ushered us to a room in their office where we could set down our heavy camera equipment while he took us on a tour of the facility.Īs we entered the office, Terashima told us that part of the space would soon be renovated into another karaoke room for VIPs.
We had an appointment that afternoon, but the place was packed. When we arrived at 1Kara, the sales manager, Terashima-san, greeted us and promptly said, "sorry."
When we visited 1Kara, it was clear they were raking in the customers and expanding like crazy. Though the Ohitorisama trend is over a decade old by now, the hitokara business is booming. One such business was 1Kara, which started in 2011. SEGA was the first to offer special hitokara rooms and other businesses followed suit. The karaoke industry couldn't ignore this trend as 20–30% of karaoke customers were ohitorisama at this point. Soon hitokara ヒトカラ (short for "alone karaoke") rose in popularity and rooms meant for eight customers were routinely occupied by just one. And this impacted karaoke in a major way. The practice of doing things alone became more common, not just for women but for men too. But Ohitorisama gave people the courage to be comfortable with themselves, which made them relaxed and more successful in other areas of life. Many people in Japan are embarrassed to do things alone in public. It refers to the idea of a woman living at a comfortable distance from others, so she can become more successful in her career and love life. In the early 2000s, journalist Iwashita Kumiko (岩下久美子) coined the term Ohitorisama おひとりさま in her book of the same name.
Sure, you might just want to practice, but there is a larger culture of solo karaoke that most people outside Japan don't know about. Japan's One Person Karaoke Culture おひとりさま The idea of a woman living at a comfortable distance from others, so she can become more successful in her career and love life.īefore we talk about our experience at 1Kara, I think it's worth explaining why Japanese people go to karaoke alone.
Koichi, Sean, Viet, and I ( Mami) visited a location in Shinjuku to see if singing alone is as wonderful as people in Japan say it is.
Managed by Koshidaka Holdings, 1Kara is a place where you can rent a karaoke box sized for the solitary and filled with professional audio recording equipment. That's exactly why 1Kara was created.īut what if you want to sing all by your lonesome? It's common for people in Japan to go to karaoke alone, though a whole room can feel empty when you're singing solo. It's common for people in Japan to go to karaoke alone, though a whole room can feel empty when you're singing solo. It's perfect for people who love singing, but don't love performing in front of strangers. When you go to karaoke in Japan, you usually rent a small room with your friends and sing the night away by yourselves. FYI: WaniKani, our system for learning kanji and Japanese vocabulary in record time, is currently 33% off.