TOKYO — There was something vaguely familiar about this place, as if I’d been here before. Of course, I don’t mean the fact that I was in this bar a few nights ago. No, it’s a place like this that harkens me back to my college days, the kind of seedy bar that was the local haunt for many.

Maybe it’s just the drunk guys dancing on the bar. Maybe it’s the “nose pointer” guy talking about his friends. By “nose pointer,” I mean a guy who is trying to slyly point to the guy standing right next to him — as if this is discreet — by rubbing his nose with his index finger. I though he was trying to tell me he has a cocaine problem, but my friends said that’s not the case. I’m still not convinced.

Once again I am at Train Bar — or whatever the bar’s official name is. It’s a long and skinny bar, housed inside of an old train car and shoved onto a small Tokyo lot. The walls are filled with people’s pictures — most likely those of drunken tourists, not celebrities who have this place a must-see in Tokyo.

Train Bar is our fist stop in a action-filled night. After a couple of rounds, we make our way over to a Karaoke bar to immerse ourselves in a bit of Japanese culture. Now, throw away your preconceived notions of what is a Karaoke bar. It’s not just some seedy bar where people go to sing a song or two and make a complete fool of themselves in front of a few friends and a room full of strangers. In Tokyo, a Karaoke bar is a series of private rooms where people can go to make a fool of themselves in front of their closest friends.

It’s an intimate setting, and that means you’ll have the opportunity to sing many songs and make that much more of a fool of yourself.

Of course, cocktails help, and the bar makes ordering drinks a cinch — patrons can use the in-room touch screen to buy drinks. There is no waiter to take an order, just a waiter to bring you the drinks. Ah, the wonders of modern technology.

And, of course, the Honey Toast — some sort of house specialty at this particular Karaoke bar.