Asia’s love of karaoke is now manifesting itself with an airport singalong booth to entertain passengers before they board their flight. Kyushu-Saga International Airport in southwest Japan opened the facility in late January 2025 in a bid to add novelty and fun to the traveller experience.
The size of a telephone box
Installed by Tokyo-based music equipment firm, Daiichikosho, the booth is the size of an old-fashioned telephone kiosk, so would-be singers will not find a vast audience for their vocal performances. It can be shared with a duet partner though, with two microphones available, and enough headsets for a quartet of music-lovers. And just in case the fun gets too addictive, there is a built-in clock so flyers can keep an eye on the time left before they need to head to the departure gate.
Costing just 100 yen (€0,64) per song, the company has promoted the booth as a light-hearted way for travellers to use up spare change in foreign currency. The idea, according to airport official Sho Akikawa speaking to Japan News is that “there’s something surprising about seeing a karaoke booth inside an airport, and so we thought it would be a good way to offer a new kind of amusement.”
Sing your farewell
The airport already offers retail and refurbished paid-for lounges, but is looking to improve its competitivity post-Covid as connecting flights to Taipei, Shanghai, and Seoul resume. A customer survey in 2023 revealed passengers wanted a wider range of activities to while away their time.
What’s more, it’s not only airside passengers who can take the chance to give their vocal chords a workout. Non-flyers can sing their farewell to departing loved ones, or indeed simple passers-by can use the facility on a whim. “It can be used by people other than the passengers themselves, so we hope this will serve as an opportunity to promote Saga Airport as a visitor-friendly location,” Akikawa added.
Kyushu-Saga International is not the only travel hub that sees music as a positive addition to its offer. Many car parks around the globe pump music through loud speakers as a calming measure. St Pancras International train station has long made pianos available to those passing through its halls, something designed to ease the stress and tension of a busy place of transit, now adopted in other public forums worldwide. And Nashville International, in the US, an airport serving what is known as “Music City”, boasts five stages and hosts 800 gigs per year.
