<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html><!-- InstanceBegin template="/Templates/jsyle_top07a.dwt" codeOutsideHTMLIsLocked="false" --> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en" /> <meta name="robots" content="all" /> <meta name="keywords" content="jstyle,japan,australia,japanese,food,living,style,beauty,news cinema,business,information,Sydney,GoldCoast,Brisbane,Perth,Melbourne,Cairns" /> <meta name="description" content="Nichigo Press jstyle is a quarterly English-language magazine that deals with a wide variety of Japan-related topics in an Australian context." /> <meta name="rating" content="general" /> <meta name="author" content="NICHIGO PRESS" /> <meta name="copyright" content="NICHIGO PRESS" /> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="doctitle" --> <title>jstyle -The Japan you were looking for is right here!-</title> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <SCRIPT language="JavaScript"> <!-- function MM_swapImage() { //v3.0 var i,j=0,x,a=MM_swapImage.arguments; document.MM_sr=new Array; for(i=0;i<(a.length-2);i+=3) if ((x=MM_findObj(a[i]))!=null){document.MM_sr[j++]=x; if(!x.oSrc) x.oSrc=x.src; x.src=a[i+2];} } function MM_swapImgRestore() { //v3.0 var i,x,a=document.MM_sr; for(i=0;a&&i<a.length&&(x=a[i])&&x.oSrc;i++) x.src=x.oSrc; } function MM_preloadImages() { //v3.0 var d=document; if(d.images){ if(!d.MM_p) d.MM_p=new Array(); var i,j=d.MM_p.length,a=MM_preloadImages.arguments; for(i=0; i<a.length; i++) if (a[i].indexOf("#")!=0){ d.MM_p[j]=new Image; d.MM_p[j++].src=a[i];}} } function MM_findObj(n, d) { //v4.01 var p,i,x; if(!d) d=document; if((p=n.indexOf("?"))>0&&parent.frames.length) { d=parent.frames[n.substring(p+1)].document; n=n.substring(0,p);} if(!(x=d[n])&&d.all) x=d.all[n]; for (i=0;!x&&i<d.forms.length;i++) x=d.forms[i][n]; for(i=0;!x&&d.layers&&i<d.layers.length;i++) x=MM_findObj(n,d.layers[i].document); if(!x && d.getElementById) x=d.getElementById(n); return x; } //--> </SCRIPT> <link href="../../../css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> </head> <body bgcolor=black> <table width="800" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr align="center"> <td width="180"><a href="../../../index.html"><img src="../../../img/title_s.gif.jpg" width="180" height="75" alt="jstyle top" border="0" /></a><br><br> </td> <td width="620"><div align="right"><a href="http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/index_en.html" target="_blank"><img src="../../../img/rakuten-en.gif" alt="Nekoma" width="486" height="60" border="0"></a></div></td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td colspan="2"><hr size="2"></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="body" --> <div style="background-color:#FFFFFF"> <table width="800" border="0"> <tr> <td><center> <img src="http://jstyle.25today.com/topics/img/title.gif" width="762" height="31"> <img src="http://jstyle.25today.com/culture/title.gif" width="762" height="50"> <table width="762" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><div class="sec"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3"><div class="NewImg"> <table width="200" border="0" align="right"> <tr> <td height="162"><img src="img/J808_ETIQ_H02.gif" width="198" height="300"></td> </tr> </table> </div> <h1><strong>Japanese manners and etiquette</strong><br> 0񣓸񠆐0<BR>How to hit all the right notes </h1> <p><strong>Karaoke is a popular pastime for people of all ages in Japan and like many activities, has its own set of rules to follow. Here is a simple guide to ensure you hit the right notes at your next karaoke experience:</strong></p> <hr size="1"><br><br> <h3>Where and when to go</h3> <p>There are many karaoke bars in Japan, but most people rent private karaoke rooms, which come complete with couches, a television screen and microphones, and can fit from one to 15 or more people. Karaoke establishments can be found all around Japan and most big chains (such as Big Echo, Shidax and Jumbo Karaoke) have outlets near major train stations. </p> <p>Room rates vary depending on when you go. During peak periods (evenings from about 7pm on weekends) they can be as much as 500-600 yen per half hour, while going in the middle of the day during the week can be as cheap as 100 yen per half hour. Many places offer special rates for "karaoke marathons" - usually at least four hours - or drink-inclusive deals. Prices are usually displayed at the entrance. </p> <div class="sec"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3"><div class="NewImg"> <table width="200" border="0" align="left"> <tr> <td height="162"><img src="img/J808_ETIQ_H01.gif" width="240" height="250"></td> </tr> </table> </div><BR> <h3>What to sing</h3> <p>Once you've been shown to your private room, key in your song selection using the remote control or machine provided. If you're in a group, make sure you take turns choosing songs so there's a variety of music and everyone gets a chance to sing. While it's important to choose songs you like, you should also remember that not everyone will share your taste in music, so be open to compromise. It's best to steer clear of songs that nobody else knows. Don't worry if you aren't big on J-pop or don't know many Japanese songs - nowadays virtually every karaoke establishment has a good selection of songs in English and other languages. </p><br clear="all"> <div class="sec"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3"><div class="NewImg"> <table width="200" border="0" align="right"> <tr> <td height="162"><img src="img/J808_ETIQ_H03.gif" width="250" height="248"></td> </tr> </table> </div> <BR><h3>Singing etiquette </h3> <p>Depending on the group, everyone might sing together, people may want to sing individually, or perhaps a combination of both. Whatever you do, don't hog the microphone! As a general rule, let the person who chose the song sing solo unless they ask you to join in. Karaoke regulars will usually have a few "signature" songs they always perform. Don't select someone else's signature song yourself and don't join in unless invited. </p> <p>When it's not your turn, listen to the person singing. A bit of encouragement and applause makes everyone's experience more enjoyable. Don't criticise people's singing ability or song choice, carry on conversations, ignore the singer, flip through the song book or sing really loudly and drown out the person with the microphone. It is also considered bad form to skip songs or stop them halfway through without the permission of whoever chose them.</p> <p>The most important thing is to have fun. By observing some simple points of etiquette and being considerate of others, you can enjoy karaoke and so can everyone else. </p> </td> </tr> </table> </div></td> </tr> </table> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <table width="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td><img src="../../../img/spacer.gif" alt="space" width="20" height="20"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><a href="../../../index.html">Back to top page</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#666666"><font color="#FFFFFF">Copyright &copy; 2006-2007 NICHIGO PRESS All rights reserved.</font></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html>