Arirang Music Studio
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: Music Videos
- Best Nights: Mon, Sat, Wed
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: None
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
17 reviews
San Jose, CA
"I like drinking in my house. Its comfortable. It's got a big TV. It's got a fireplace for the cold nights. I know the people who drink…" read more »
23 Reviews for Arirang Music Studio
soju at k-bar...hop over here to karaoke with good friends... Man this place is awesome. Guy at front desk was really helpful. My friend jumped on the couch and he still didn't care! rooms were cheap but accomodated 5 ppl. Extensive list of songs... Good! Cause I love to sing.
THIS PLACE BE KNOWIN' ALL THE RIGHT JAMS! i went here last night with some co workers because we found that there was absolutely nothing better to do late at night in san jose. we spent almost 4 hours singing our hearts out. i unfortunately lost my voice.
i like the large private rooms. and omg, i LOVED the music selection. they had a selection of new music that was still fresh on the radio. along with a lot of other different variates of music. that was definitely nice. oh and might i add that they have Soulja Boy's "CRANK DAT". i found that really amusing and you better believe that my friends and i moved that table aside so we could crank dat!
for a medium room, it was $40/hr. which was a great deal considering the previous place we went to which was $60/hr for a medium room(that were all taken). we all ended up paying about 15 dollars each...hey for 4 hours--not bad. we were all satisfied.
the only thing i would call this place out for are their couches and gross floors. it's srsly time for a HUGE update. and also, i suggest you bring cash if you are going to spend less than 20 dollars because they charge a fee for using your card if the purchase is under 20. i never carry any cash on me. frick!
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Right when we walk in, this place has a very unpleasant smell. Minus one star. The music is all midi files, no actual music...sad times indeed. Minus another star. The redeeming factors for this Karaoke place is the price, and music selection. For a very large private room, we only ended up paying $10 each. They also have a large selection of very new music. So if you heard something new on the radio say on wild 94.9, you could come to this place and probably sing it karaoke style that same day! I would probably come back here again to karaoke if I'm in the area, but be aware that there are BETTER places out there, i.e. Music Tunnel KTV in Richmond.
The song list is mediocre and difficult to navigate since it's sorted by song title. The midi background music is mostly annoying as well. Not really sure why I was watching travel videos in the background the whole time either. For some reason I feel the need to take a trip to Korea. Two stars for being clean and the sound system that will put a little thump in your chest without disturbing the neighboring rooms too badly. What's the point of Karaoke without alcohol anyway? Geez, I sound like an addict.
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Music is my life, but this place tried to take it from me. Not sweet. I still wake up in a cold sweat now and then. Avoid like satan's spawn. Really Nice bathroom.
The rooms are private, the service is fun (which is rare), but they didn't have the English songs I wanted to sing. It was also quite challenging to go through the music book manually. Ironically, I miss the computerized system.
I've been here on a couple of occasions, this past weekend you open the door, and you kinda smell a hint of vomit. Ewww... but strangely enough, that was expected. They have a DDR machine in the front, and the guy that owns the place has these AWESOME sideburns for as long as I can remember... they can even tape you singing and you can purchase it at the front. Btw, I wouldn't go into the bathroom unless it was an emergency, but that my rule of thumb at most karaoke places...
This place has tons of rooms, and the song list is pretty up to date, they had fergie - clumsy, and soljah boy!!!!! YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
The mics are wireless and they work, they have disco lights and tambourines
My main positive about this place is that I brought in fried chicken into the karaoke room to eat and he didn't even bat and eyelash, he just told me what rooms my friends were in. def would come here again, but I do like rulala karaoke in sac town better but I'll probably never go there again so arirang is here to stay!
I have never been to a Korean karaoke place before, but they get it right!
This place is owned by a great guy named Elvis who is super friendly and a great host! We got a room, which includes couches, some tambourines and three T.V.s...we sung our hearts out...brought in some covert beverages and snacks and had so much fun. I never realized how much better a private room is than a bar...it's leaps and bounds ahead of the game here. Because I was there with some people in Elvis' family, he gave us a Christmas discount :) what a guy!
Cheers to this place, I definitely want to come back!!
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For those of you old enough, remember back in the 1980s when the Japanese culture really started to influence American culture? The Japanese were riding high on their "Bubble" economy of skyrocketing real estate (sound familiar, as in sub-prime?), and they were buying up everything in sight, including Pebble Beach Golf Course, Comdex technology tradeshow, and $43 million Van Gogh paintings.
Along with all of that buying, Japan was also at the prime of their export driven economic miracle, exporting cars, electronics, Akira Kurosawa films, and some of their culture here and all over the world.
It was hard to find Sushi outside traditional Sansei (third generation) Japanese/American cities on the west coast. Americans eating raw fish instead of Fish Sticks? Ptuie! Now it is ubiquitous.
Japanese making luxury cars? Hahaha! Just over a decade after motorcycle companies like Honda and Suzuki introduced 3 wheeled mini-cars? Now Lexus, Infiniti and Acura are household brands.
And average people singing in front of a bunch of strangers 25 years before American Idol? No Way! We sing carols at Christmas and Auld Lang Syne at New Years, but all together.
Karaoke made its way into American culture during the 80s, when Japan was taking over everything. Back then, it was a system on stage, in a bar, in front of a large roomful of people. Only the very daring, very drunk, or the American businessman hosting a Japanese delegation would do it. In Japan, it was all the rage, and it didn't matter whether you were good or terrible, all that mattered was that you gave it your best effort (Ganbarimasu), including an effort to bond socially with others.
In the late 90s, Karaoke evolved into a night out with friends or family. As in-home systems became popular, more people were doing it with friends and family only, not on stage in front of strangers. About that time, Karaoke clubs emerged, with better systems and private rooms you could rent by the hour.
Arirang is one of those places. Since Karaoke is popular worldwide, the mixing pot that is the Bay Area has a lot of people who use it for a fun night out. Its $30/hr for a small room, (say 2 - 4 people). The sound system is good, and you get 2 mics, and a very extensive song list in many languages, with a confusing remote that offers a wide variety of adjustments to the key, tempo, etc.
If you are American, then karaoke is pronounced like you need to lift and transport someone from Tulsa to Muskogee: "Carry Oki"
If you are Japanese, it is pronounced like you're relieved your Lexus just came out of the shop: Car Ahh OK!
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We walk in, see the very menacing "ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES" sign and walk back out.
What to do? We end up chugging out of a bottle behind a van in a dark neighborhood. I've reached a new low... never even did that in high school.
Turns out we didn't need the liquid courage. Despite having windows, Arirang's rooms feel nice and private, and you can bet your ass we sang our hearts out. This was awesome for us, but not so fortunate for surrounding patrons. I caught some of our Spice Girls "Wannabe" rendition on my camera and it ain't pretty. Loud and off-key, yes, but pretty, it is not.
So it's very Korean (as is everything on El Camino Real) but there's still a good English song selection - lots of old songs but you can generally find the fun pop songs like BSB, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Britney... and some new stuff (Fergie's London Bridges, Beyonce's Irreplaceable, etc.) There's plenty enough to sing for an hour or two and still not get in all the songs you want. The sound system is kind of funny but hey, if it makes us think we're better than we are, then nothing wrong with that.
The programming control thing is really simple to use too, not one of those new-fangled pieces of shit that take you half an hour to even figure out.The bad thing is that the song menu isn't sorted by artist - only by title.
While I can't say that there's anything in particular that stands out about Arirang, it's always a good time, the price is really reasonable, and it's the best karaoke place I've found within a half hour drive. Best of all, open 'til 2 AM even on a weekday!
I went to Arirang Karaoke for the first time a couple of days ago and I was very surprised at how great it was. I am 18, so finding a 21 and under place that is open so late is a real treat.
I bought a 2 hour session in a small room for $60 which i initially thought was a little expensive but considering the fun I ended up having it was totally worth it. The music selection was really good too. They had Korean, Japanese, English, Thai, Spanish, etc. well over 1,000 songs which are fairly recent.
4 Stars for the sheer excitement of singing Korean music with my friends, and the awesome overall experience.
-1 Star for the MIDI style sound for the songs.
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This place is the shit. I mean, what other place has "Breaking Free" from High School Musical on karaoke? They're pretty diverse with song selections, too - they have Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols, Sleep Now In The Fire by RATM and Let Down by Radiohead. They even have Duran Duran songs!
It's not a semi-formal place either - you can dress up or down however you want to and 18 and under is permitted. I always take the $25 an hour for a small room. For sure coming back =)
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Man, I love karaoke! This place is a lot of fun, and not too expensive. I do wish they served "real" drinks tho...
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No alcohol, no smoking, dahdahdah, VERY AMERICAN. Though they have several language choices for music (including Japanese). The sound system isn't spectacular...it's a bit static-y with a lot of echo. But the prices are fantastic, the DDR machine is great for a large party, and they let you bring in outside food. The management is overly friendly with return customers (which makes me feel SUPER WELCOME). Be sure to grab a stamp card on the way out because it feels up quickly.
Five stars for the music variety, and the leniency of the staff. I've been coming here for over four years now and will continue to be a loyal customer.
let me explain something. i cant sing. have you ever ran over a cat? thats what it sounds like. (no hate mail)
once in korea, we had a haesheek (department outing). we did the usual dinner with MUCHO DRINKOS, then off to norebang. the whole time i clapped, i drank, clapped some more.
director: hey lee, sing a song.
me: you dont want to hear me sing.
director: youre not a team player Blaablablablablba
me: you asked for it
*one versus into song*
director : lee, why dont you sit down and have a drink
i go to norebang and drink thats what i do. so this one night, after a starstudded dinner with some celebs from korea, whoa did they just call me to go sing with them at a norebang? im there. there better be beer.
five stars for watching lee soo young perform some finkl songs and park kyung rim do a lee hyori song. HA!
minus one star for making me sing in front of an actual singer.
**********
this place is actually pretty nice. of course the no alcohol and smoking thing ehhh. well this is america. the rooms are big and clean. the staff...ehh the usual youd find in places like this.
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a great time to be had by all who come here. i concur w/ niki tho...the no alcohol policy is pretty retarded. i guess koreans don't need liquid courage when it comes to karaoke. good selection of english songs, new and old!
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karaoke'd for the first time in ages over the weekend and it was a damn good time. arirang had a pirty good english song list with a lot of current stuff and the prices were pirty reasonable. but they lost a star because of the no-alchs policy and also cuz they only had the song list categorized by song title..not by artist as well. picky, picky..i know.
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Came here with a bunch of coworkers on a week night (Thursday?) and even though it was a nice place... they didn't have much selection for chinese music and most of us were chinese. All the chinese music were really old and not that much selections. Also they didn't have much english music. I think it's a great place for Korean Karaokee though! Probably wouldn't come here again unless I learn some korean! :p
One of the few karaoke places in the South Bay. This place has really gotten better over the years.
It used to be really hard to bring my non-korean friends here because then they were forced to sing Kenny Loggins and Journey songs. But the last time I went they had "Yeah" by Usher. Now they have Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog and American songs ....and the Japanese songs are romanized with Korean characters. I'm not sure how recent the asian songs are... but like I said... very impressed that they had "Yeah" by Usher..even though we sang it 3 times. haha. Good job Arirang!
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we here for 3 hours last night. 3 hours. i've never been at a norebang that long, although to be fair, i've only gone a handful of times in my life. there were 10 of us and we sang our hearts out so it went by pretty fast.
the place itself is very clean although it had a weird odor and they do not allow alcohol or smoking which is something that i definitely never saw in LA.
the music selection is extensive so you are likely to find something you like. they did not have "could've been" by tiffany though. that's usually my go to song but i learned that maybe "you give love a bad name " by bon jovi is my new go to song.
at the end of the night, they gave us a cd of part of the night recorded. it could be horrifying so i am glad i don't have it. if you're in the mood to sing, check it out.
I just moved to the South Bay a few months ago and this is the first noraebang place I've been to down here. I used to live in the East Bay for a decade, so I was used to going to Music Box and NRB in Oakland and DoReMi in SF. Unfortunately, those places have gotten worse over the years.
Arirang is nestled in a corner mini mall in the Korean section of ECR in Santa Clara. It is a surprisingly large place considering the "face" of it is only about 15' wide. There are at least a dozen rooms. The music selection is actually very good here, and the had some very recent songs including ones from Franz Ferdinand and Lil' Jon as well as the standard Ziller.co.kr US songlist.
The sell drinks ranging from soda, water, and coffee and OJ and mango juice as well. 6 of us sang for 2 hours and had a few beverages for $60. Can't beat that.
I'd have to say this is one of the best NRB places in the entire Bay Area.
i have NOT gone to norebang (karaoke) in a LOOOONG time. i think the last visit was in college! i suck but hey, i'm entertainment....who doesn't want a tone deaf girl singing and dancing and making a big fool of herself?! so for a friend's bday someone suggested we go. fine, i'll go but i won't sing! you can't get me to sing!!!! that's what i told everyone.
so guess who was singing her tone deaf lil heart out, dancing on the tables?! (ok not quite dancing on the tables....)
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i went here with my friend's family for a birthday, and had a blast. i've never been to a private room karaoke place before (i'm white--though a fan of bar-style karaoke), so this was a completely new experience for me. the cost differs depending on the room size, but split among the party, it's roughly the same price as going bowling. the rooms are a little tacky, though they are definitely kept clean (mics come with microphone condoms and the remote is covered with plastic wrap). the music selection in english is pretty eclectic, and there was definitely enough to fill over an hour's worth of fun music to sing. one thing that bugged me was that the list of songs was poorly organized; the english songs were sorted only by title, and i kept finding random english songs not in the english directory on several mixed-language pages in the book. all things said, this place is definitely recommended. singing "forgot about dre" was the highlight of the night for my party.
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