Karaoke

It was my first in the longest time!

I was horrified to hear the word "Karaoke" in Japan whenever I'm hanging out with friends or company because that means it's usually indicating to go do karaoke next.  I know it's a way to socialize and it's usually meant well in the Japanese culture but somehow I always felt it was a little too intimate.  Or intimidating.  

Don't take it wrong, I love singing!  I used to secretly wish to be a singer song writer and write some dramatically depressing lyrics and singing them out in my bedroom, all alone, living in my own little fantasized stories years ago lol.  So singing isn't the horrifying factor for me.  It's that you sing someone else's song in their key in front of others in an intimate setting (you can adjust to your key but it takes forever to even know where my key is!). What I meant by "intimate setting" is that it's usually boxed in a tiny (or spacious) room where they have mics and a TV screen and you grabe your mic and face the screen and sing along with the tune you choose while your company stares at you.  Or that was my experience on going and doing karaoke in Japan.  Till now of course.

So, what changed this made up story of mine?  Or the stereotype I had all this time until today?  That is my British friends I've got to hang out with tonight y'all!

I was invited to a ramen dinner from a friend of mine since she needed an English/Japanese interpreter for her friends from the U.K.  They're actually her frined's friends but her friend who speaks Japanese is back in the UK 🇬🇧 while these guys are traveling here by themselves so I needed to come in to help them out in translation.

First off, ramen experience was lit. They chose the  restaurant which serves the spicy, rich and creamy kinda ramen.  The noodles were kind of chunky (or chunkier than the ones that are famous here and known in our Hakata region).  The soup was thicker and spicier, and pretty salty which I never had before.  

  

Then, while I wasn't too sure of what was coming next, we were led to this karaoke place called Echo Land.  Uh oh, intimidating!  Haven't been for awhile like for a longest time! But oh well, I said it earlier today that you accept what it is rather than reject the things in your life.  So I let go and surrendered and followed the clique.  

Well, aren't I glad I did???  I had fun!  By the time I got out of this intimate setting, I was so lit, I almost didn't wanna leave!  Why?  Because these guys from Britain has got talent!  And the Japanese lady friend of mine who led us well into singing by ordering drinks and setting up the room and what not for us.  

Gosh, don't they love singing?  And it's new for me, too, but karaoke nowadays has tons of selections even in English!  There was a Jack Union logo in this little machine to indicates that they have songs in English although most of the songs we sang were American's. The first song I sang was the Beatles' classic, "Let it be" to honor my new friends since they sang some Japanese song for us from this anime which was so amazing! 

I browsed around the selections of songs but gosh, they even have Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift!  And guess what we sang?  Briteny's Baby One More Time lol!  And Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money!  No, not sensored!  And Michael Jackson and even Queen!  I never thought Japan got them all.  

By the way, I was thinking who else would sing all those songs in English other than us???  Are there a lot of tourists from overseas who come to karaoke and sing American and British pop like us?

Anyways, it was a crazy night!  They slayed it!  Another Japanese lady friend also sang a few songs in English which amazed me!  She kindly showed us how to use the machine and stuff and although we ( or I especially) sang off keys and horribly out of tempo, she didn't mind it at all and joined our crazy singing Kareoke night!  A very sweet lady I gotta say.

In conclusion, I broke through my fear of the past  and created and rewrote a new fun experience!  I guess that's how you overcome your fear thoughts in life.  It's merely one of the ways but it wasn't that bad.  Instead of holding onto the whacky past experience and living in the past, just know that today is a new day, you co-create whatever you wanna create in your life with the Universe and your friends. 

 Shout out to Mim and Alex, Kimie and last but not least, Mikie!!!  It was a wonderful, awesome, crazy night which I would not, could not forget for awhile 😆🎉🎉🎉

P. S.  What are those amazing rays coming down onto them?  Are they about to be ascended?  So cool!