Fiesta
Belt one out at this Western-style karaoke bar in Roppongi

Photos by Kohji Shiiki

One of the brilliant things about karaoke in Japan
is the whole “box” aspect—what better than a private room to save yourself from the embarrassment of belting out tunes in front of tons of strangers?

But for those with an exhibitionist streak, a penchant for stardom, or simply a longing to bellow in front of a crowd, Fiesta International Karaoke Bar in Roppongi offers up the same boisterous atmosphere as the local pub back home. The admission fee of ¥3,150 gets you in the door and three free drinks to boot, along with all-you-can-sing for the night—quite a deal compared to the average karaoke box.

The entrance to Fiesta opens straight into the bar, colorfully decorated with neon beer signs and lined with stools for those escaping their inevitable turn on stage. Going further inside reveals something like a scene from Lost in Translation, as salarymen stand on stage crooning out golden oldies in English to a mostly foreign audience, with flashing lights and strobes illuminating the room.

While the bar wasn’t exactly kicking early on this Monday night, the spacious interior felt surprisingly intimate, with a few small groups lounging on the clusters of sofas lining the room. Judging by all the pom-poms, wigs and other party favors scattered around, along with the huge signs bearing the words “NO DANCING,” Fiesta looks like it gets turned up a few notches come Thursday or Friday. But coming earlier in the week guarantees even the biggest mic hogs enough stage time to practice their repertoire.

Fiesta offers the usual standard cocktails (¥900) to get into the karaoke spirit, and although the three free drinks were enough to loosen our inhibitions, anyone who’s feeling a bit of stage fright can take advantage of the whiskey (¥900) or sake (¥1,000).

Liberally liquored, we found the courage to dig through the bar’s huge library of over 10,000 songs and pick out a few numbers to woo the crowd. After our particularly homely rendition of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool,” the nearby table of oldies-loving salarymen found it in their hearts to throw a few compliments toward the stage, giving us the courage to try out a few more numbers.

Afterward, famished from all the attention, we were ready to chow down, and the food at Fiesta came as a complete surprise. The majority of the menu is Japanese, but after sweating it out on stage a cold Corona (¥1,000) and some kimchi-fried rice (¥800) made for excellent relief. Okonomiyaki (from ¥1,300) seems to be the house specialty, and the Ghana curry (¥800) was excellent.

But more than the food, and maybe more than the drinks, Fiesta is all about the music. While we squirmed in terror at the thought of having to follow someone whose rendition of the Dixie Chicks sounded better than the original, our exhibitionist side secretly delighted at the chance of being bathed in lights on stage and inflicting pain on other bar-goers with our “killer” voices. And now that we know Fiesta lists all their songs on their website, next time we’ll come prepared with a better arsenal.

3F Crest-Roppongi Bldg, 7-9-3 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5410-3008. Open Mon-Sat 7pm-5am, closed Sun. www.fiesta-roppongi.com

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