Free drinks and desserts also part of unusual promotion.
In the West, the idea of singing karaoke brings to mind images of going to a karaoke bar to grab the spotlight and stand on stage to belt out a tune in front of a group of strangers. In karaoke’s home country of Japan, though, it’s far more common to go to a “karaoke box,” where you and your party get a private room just to yourselves, with a full menu of food and beverages just a quick call away on the house phone.
Karaoke boxes are also a pretty popular date option. They provide an oasis of privacy in Japan’s crowded urban centers, and if it’s just you and your sweetheart in the box, no one’s going to mind if you take a break from singing to chat or make out. But while there’s plenty of private smooching that goes on in karaoke boxes, one chain, Jumbo Karaoke Hiroba (also known as Jankara), is encouraging customers to engage in a brief public display of affection too.
As part of its Kiss X Karaoke Campaign, Jankara (which has its largest presence in the Osaka area) is offering discounts and giveaways to couples who share a kiss with each other at the reception counter where customers request a room. The exact service depends on the specific branch, but the three categories are one hour of free karaoke, 30 minutes of free karaoke, and a free drink and dessert.
“We hope to let customers enjoy a moving experience that they’ll always remember,” the chain said in describing the impetus for the campaign, which kicked off on October 2, and continues through October 6. So if some karaoke sounds like a fun Friday night date for you and your not-bashful romantic partner, you know where to go. This is Jankara’s first time to run such a campaign, and while not everyone in reserved Japan took advantage of the offer, the company reports that the overall response was positive. So we might see the Kiss X Karaoke Campaign return in the future. Who knows? Maybe one day Jankara’s executives will even branch out into promotions for platonic relationships, knocking a couple bucks off the tab of friends who high-five at the register.
Related: Jankara location finder
Sources: Jankara, J Cast News via Otakomu
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Jankara