Tokyo Kitty, karaoke the night away!4 min read

“Hit me with your Best Shot” and “ Rappers Delight.” Just give me a microphone, and those are my first two choices. So, after a birthday, I grabbed a few friends to hit up Tokyo Kittydowntown, we ended up singing for two hours in a cool, private room and having a blast. I had a couple girls in the group who thought they would just “stop in for a minute.” Yeah, they were the ones from whom I was prying the microphone, and they ended up dancing out on the main dance floor for awhile.

Tokyo Kitty is just another addition to the innovative bars behind the mastermind Jacob Trevino. His other two bars are Video Archivein Walnut Hills (a Quentin Tarantino-themed speakeasy with a “Pulp Fiction” vibe) and Overlook Lodge in Pleasant Ridge (a nod to “The Shining”). This guy knows how to throw a party, and I love it! Last Christmas, he even transformed those two bars. Video Archive was “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and The Overlook Lodge transformed into an over-the-top “Miracle Bar”.

The latest bar is a nod to Bill Murray’s “Lost in Translation.”. Jacob said the scene where Murray and Scarlett Johansson sing was part of the bar’s inspiration. The scene “shows people connecting over music”. I can attest, when we were all on the dance floor, we were all dancing with some “new best friends” haha

When you enter the bar, you’ll feel like you just landed in the Tokyo airport. They don’t want the dance floor to ever get jammed with people, so you wait in the bar area to start you off. Then you’re guided through a cool, mirrored hallway (selfie area for sure) and into the main bar, which has fantastic light effects a DJ and a fully stocked bar with a long list of specialty cocktails and sake drinks. You can stay in here as long as you want (where the crowd controls the music selection and everyone can sing along) or you can reserve a private room. There are seven themed rooms of varying sizes. This is a blast! You and your friends can sing dance and be crazy while you plug in the songs you want. The best part…your drinks are served using your phone and are delivered by a Bbot! A what???? It is a robotic drink delivery system where the bartender loads your drinks, they go up through the ceiling and down into your room! It is soooo flipping cool. TK is only the second bar in the country to have this system.

So, whether you want to just hang in the main bar or have a little private party or both, it’s really an awesome time. Put this on your list of things to do in Cincy for sure!

Click HERE for my previous write up on Video Archive

Things To Know:

• 575 Race St.

• Open 5p.m. – 2a.m. everyday

• Sun–Thurs private rooms

Small room $20/hour

Medium room $30/hour

Large room $40/hr.

Add $10 Friday & Saturday

• Try the “Luna” cocktail (yummm) named after Sailor Moon cat. Sailor is popular animated Japanese character

• The microphones they have must be magical because I swear I sounded sooo good!