This hidden-gem karaoke chain is perfect for your inner child and adult-beverage-loving grown-up.

Japan, being the birthplace of karaoke, has a lot of karaoke chains. Pretty much all of them have a comparable selection of songs, so which one should you pick?

“One.”

That’s the recommendation from our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko. And no, he’s not trying to coyly say they’re all the same and that any one is as good as the others. He’s recommending the karaoke chain called One.

There’s far more than just one thing that makes One special, though. For starters, their room rates tend to be a little cheaper than other chains, and that’s not because they gouge you on extra fees either. Included in the base room price are all-you-can-drink soft drinks from the self-serve drink bar, and a sweeter still perk is that you also get all-you-can-eat soft serve ice cream and waffles.

But the number-one reason One is Ahiruneko’s number-one karaoke recommendation? Ridiculously cheap beer, whiskey, and other alcoholic beverages.

Several times a month One holds a promotion it calls “One Day,” which takes place every Tuesday and also on the 1st, 11th, 21st, and 31st of the month, unless those days happen to be on a Friday, Saturday, or the day before a national holiday. Yeah, that’s kind of a lot to keep track of, but it’s worth devoting the mental energy to because on One Days every alcoholic beverage on One’s menu is just 110 yen (US$0.78).

▼ This bottle of Sapporo beer was less expensive than a vending machine bottled water or canned coffee.

If you’re thinking One is able to offer such a great deal because they have a poor or limited selection of alcoholic drinks, think again. The menu has over 200 options, including a huge variety of cocktails.

▼ One’s alcoholic drink menu

Energy drink fan that he is, Ahiru Neko made sure to get himself a vodka and Red Bull.

▼ Considering that he can’t get a can of Red Bull for 110 yen at a convenience store, it was like they were paying him to drink the vodka.

They even offer Suntory’s premium Chita, Shirakawa, and Yamazaki whiskeys, either with a mixer or on the rocks (though the popularity of the latter two mean they might be sold out).

▼ Suntory Chita highball: 110 yen!

And should you want something to munch on (aside from the already included all-you-can-eat ice cream and waffles), One whips up some tasty French fries, which are also very reasonably priced at 210 yen.

▼ They even have fries with chocolate sauce (pictured bottom-right)

▼ A 110-yen Heineken to go with the fries.

Really, the only downside is that One is a relatively small chain, with just five branches in total. Four of those are in Tokyo, though, including one in the Takadanobaba neighborhood, which is right in the middle of downtown and accessible by the Yamanote loop train line that encircles the city center (the others are in Nakano, Nerima, Narimasu, and Chiba Prefecture’s Kashiwa).

Related: Karaoke One
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where h has many memories of karaoke and beer in Takadanobaba.

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