For Karaoke and anything Japanese the place to go is Soi Thaniya, which is Soi 4 near the Salan Daeng Sky train station. 

This station is on the Silom line, so if a visitor is coming from Sukhumvit, then change trains at Siam and take the train for Saphan Taksin. 

The other public transport way to get to this enclave of Japan is by the underground MRT, and get off at Silom.

The soi is on the right hand side of Silom Road,, about 200 meters from the subway station. 

Like the other entertainment areas of Bangkok Soi Thaniya Is just one street, although in this case the shopping and office building, Thaniya Plaza, is amongst the clubs and bars. 

Unlike the next soi along in Soi 6 there is no night market. 

There are more than twenty clubs along this street, with some small side sois running off where visitors will find a few more smaller clubs and bars. 

In general, there are fewer outdoor drinking areas with televisions here than you will find outside the go gobars of Cowboy and Nana. 
Everything takes place inside the club or bar, often on a higher level than the street. 

Enticed by the beauties sitting outside, any budding singer will find a bevy of ‘sing along’ talent inside, all of whom are ready and waiting for a drink and a companion to sing along with. 

The Thai girls often speak a smattering of Japanese as well as English but most of the songs on the Karaoke televisions are English – American tunes, known to millions across the world. 

In the Soi itself, the signage for clubs, restaurants and bars is almost entirely Japanese, but maybe with an English version alongside. 

In the middle of the street an enterprising outfit have put in an English style pub called The Barbican. 

This along with the O’Reilleys Irish pub on the corner of Soi Thaniya are the only references to western culture in or near Soi Thaniya. 

This is not the cheapest place to go for entertainment, but then again, if its karaoke you want then Thaniya is better than most places, and naturally comes at an extra cost. 

In a typical bar there will be nice comfortable lounge area, VIP rooms for those special party nights and a good number of karaoke systems for customers. 

So, compared with the four coloured lights and a dancing stage seen in many of the bars in Cowboy, the equipment investment here is quite high. Some of the bars charge a 600 Baht cover fee but this will include a drink. 

Normal prices for a small Heineken are 200 Baht a bottle and the bar fine is 500 Baht. This last fee is the compensation cost for taking a girl out of the bar for the evening. 

It may be our hopeful singer will want to spend the rest of the evening crooning to his new found friend. 

The restaurants here serve the best of genuine Japanese cuisine, so this is a good place to go to sample that kind of food, even if the other entertainment options do not appeal.

But in the main, Soi Thaniya is made for a good night of Karaoke singing accompanied by some lovely ladies, who may also be able to do a few duets during the evening.