Karaoke box caters to shy soloists

A karaoke booth for single-person use in Tokyo is offering shy customers a place where they can sing without worrying about what others may think.

Going solo: A man belts out a song at the One Kara karaoke establishment near JR Kanda Station in Tokyo. KYODO

The One Kara karaoke box near JR Kanda Station opened in November with 24 private booths, each about 2 sq. meters in size, where customers can sing wearing headphones with sensitive microphones and mixers and can record their singing on CDs to take home. Some booths are only for women, but many customers are men in their 40s and 50s.

"We get favorable comments because they can sing out loud freely," a PR official for the facility run by national karaoke chain Koshidaka Co. said.