Little more than four weeks have passed since I arrived in Japan, and already I've discovered a new hobby: karaoke.  I have been to two widely different places for this entertainment so far, both inside Hirakata city.  One was the senior citizens karaoke bar referenced in my second post, and the other is a much more contemporary place, known as the Big Wave, around Makino station.  The website for that place is here: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/k942303/

One can walk around in most neighborhoods and see several karaoke bars.  In the area around Kansai Gaidai University, I have spotted at least two:  エミ and 愛愛.  But what does it mean that there are so many places to enjoy this pastime?  Where did karaoke begin? 

According to this article http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1999/990823/inoue1.html, Daisuke Inoue created the first karaoke machines and leased them to different parlors, during the early 1970s.  Although the habit was expensive at first, as 500 yen could easily pay for two meals, it soon became popular and spread to the rest of Asia, and now to practically the rest of the world.  Profits from karaoke equal more than 10 billion dollars a year!  A good quote from this article reads:

"It also seems apt that this quintessentially Japanese product, made by a man strolling to the beat of his own private drum-kit, has touched a chord worldwide. Signs for "karaoke nights" now appear outside mom-and-pop stalls in Third World villages and on the glittery billboard of the Hollywood Park Casino in California. Global icons practice it in films like My Best Friend's Wedding, and steelworkers howl away in English towns, where "carry-okie" sounds like a cousin of "cash 'n' carry." Religious figures have been heard to say that karaoke is as essential to the soul as tai chi, and 53 million Japanese alone have inflicted their voices on the world. Even in a city like Phnom Penh you can sing everything from O Sole Mio to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." 

Karaoke is more than just a place, I have found, to practice singing.  Relatively few people practice what is called hitokara (ヒトカラ) that is, singing karaoke alone.  It is a place to relax and party with friends, a place to enjoy eating and drinking, and a place to enjoy a different, lively atmosphere.  Karaoke bars specialize in their clientele; the senior citizens bar and the Big Wave are obviously catering to different audiences, as can be seen from the picture below.  For an example of the other bar, see my previous post.



The Big Wave

Some online retailers even specialize in karaoke products and machines, such as www.karaoke.com!  And a sister video game to Dance Dance Revolution has hit the States:



Karaoke has a worldwide appeal, but it began in Japan, a bare thirty some years ago.  To have reached so many places in such a short span of time probably makes karaoke the biggest cultural export besides...sushi!

Tags: daisuke inoue, karaoke
Current Mood: curious

It took me a while to think through what I wanted to give attention to in this blog post.  Obviously, since we're all living in Hirakata City, there would be no point in me doing any silly city spread photos, as we all know what the city looks like.  Although, the view from the ceramics studio is really amazing, and if you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

I've found a website, actually, for Hirakata city, entirely in English and it looks like it's meant to be used for people moving permanently to Hirakata.  Linky thingy here:

http://www.city.hirakata.osaka.jp/freepage/gyousei/hpcontent/eng/index.html

This site has quite a bit of useful info, although when I was trying to find out where a movie theatre might be located, it was less than helpful.

Instead of focusing on what the city physically looks like, though, I'd rather talk about what cool things you can DO in Hirakata City.

I'll start with the area right behind Seminar House 4.  Did you know there's a Kofun-era tomb there?  Most of the locals won't walk on it, because it's a lonely area, but the area is wooded and peaceful, as shown below:



Yes, that's me.  I suppose I'm not being a very good anthropologist, sticking myself in pictures like that.  What surprised me most when we walked up there was that someone had left a scroll in the area underneath which the king (or whoever) would have lain.  I really wanted to know why someone would do that, but I have no explanation.

So, I recommend a visit to this little area.  There was even a sign next to the tomb, and I took a picture in the hopes of being able to read some of it.



So, besides the history of the area in which we live (for there are also several temples and similar things in the area...and I want to get to them when the weather gets warmer) what else is there to do?

Well, for one thing...karaoke adventures!

My friends and I had heard that Hirakata shi station area had several good karaoke bars.  So, Saturday night we all took the bus there to see if we could find them.  We did find one, but it turned out to be...very interesting!



This one-room karaoke bar was in the basement of a pachinko parlor, and was populated by the proprietress and three drunk old men.  The old men bought us (there were four of us) drinks and chatted with us in a mixture of English and Japanese (mostly Japanese) and while we were still in shell-shock trying to figure out what to sing (there were NO English songs!) these men (called our 'ojiisan' by the owner) paid for an hour's worth of karaoke for us.

All in all, it was fantastic!

I suppose my conclusion would be that Hirakata city, though small, really does have a few interesting place to go and visit.  I also have a small list of shops around the city station area that I would recommend:

Mister Doughnuts (the bitter chocolate rich doughnut is wonderful)

BookOff (your one-stop-shopping for cheap manga and discount CDs)

Vivre (which apparently has been going out of business for the last half-year.  I recommend the socks...I now have pink panda socks)

I guess that wraps up this post.  But I'll stick a link in for a very funny site that explains in greater detail the concept of Engrish:  http://www.engrish.com/faq.php  If you study Chinese as well, I highly suggest looking at the Chinglish/Qinglish section of this webpage.

OH!  I almost forgot!  If you don't want to do any of the above activities, you could always go shopping for ultra-kawaii products!  (Found at Vivre)



Or...



See what I mean?  Pink panda socks.

 

Tags: books, cds, history, karaoke, kofun, sight-seeing
Current Mood: amused