Food was also available to order from the karaoke kitchen. Room 501 in Big Echo KaraokeĪ non-alcoholic, all-you-can-drink option was included in the ¥500-per-hour price. I could hear one or two daytime revelers murdering pop classics as I wandered the halls, but even the most egregious screeches wouldn’t have pierced the walls of the workspace. The karaoke room-cum-workspace in Big Echo (room 501) was spacious and soundproofed, bar the drone of an air conditioning unit. It came with solid Wi-Fi and at least four plug sockets. You can also make bookings on arrival at selected locations. Don’t make the mistake I did by booking before you go – the booking time starts from when you click on the reservation button. Much like the Telecube, Telespe is a little confusing if you’re not wholly proficient in Japanese. Most of the locations are central Tokyo remote work offerings, though a few are in further-flung suburbs. Using GPS, Telespe will suggest a range of telework spots close to you – those in black and white aren’t currently open, those in multicolor are. The given workspace might be a satellite office, a small space in a café or restaurant, or in my case, a karaoke room in Shinagawa’s Big Echo. Telespe operates on the messenger app Line, allowing users to find and book workspaces across Tokyo. Telespe: Like Airbnb but for Office Space But if your company or the tax authorities are expensing it, a Telecube may suit as an occasional alternative to slaving over the desk in your bedroom from nine to five. That said, Telecubes aren’t really intended for marathon sessions.
#JAPANESE KARAOKE ROOM FULL#
¥500 for 30 minutes. For most people, that would rack up a total of ¥8,000 or more for a full day’s work. The price, however, is a potential issue. The cubes are kitted out with two charging ports, a USB port, a comfortable seat and a built-in fan. They’re also well soundproofed. My Telecube was in the busy lobby of the Shibuya Cross Tower, so I can vouch for that. The doors are mostly frosted over giving a degree of privacy.
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Hit it, and the door will magically unlock and then re-lock when you jump inside.įrom a cursory browse of the various Telecubes across town, it seems they’re not in particularly high demand – though this probably varies from location to location. When you arrive, log into your account – through the browser, no Telecube app available as yet – and the second the clock strikes your selected time, a button showing the kanji characters for enter (入室) will appear in the bookings section. I’d recommend a translator app that can scan screenshots. If it’s your first time using a Telecube, the entry process can be a little unwieldy – especially if your Japanese needs touching up. Booking a Telecube is fairly straightforward: sign up for an account using the website, use the location finder to pick a workspace, then pick a time slot and the duration of your stay.
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Tokyo’s Telecubes are drop-in-drop-out workspaces, shaped like old-school phone boxes, which you can find throughout buildings and train stations in the central city business districts. But how about working from a phone booth? We tested three unorthodox telework spaces in Tokyo to find out the pros and cons. Some Tokyo remote work options are the tried and tested cafés, libraries and dedicated co-working spaces. But if you’re part of this nascent work-from-home crowd you may well be yearning for a workspace not situated within the four walls of your apartment. The age of remote working finally found its footing in Tokyo over the course of the past year.