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YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Some who rock the mic could be the next “American Idol.”

Others peel the skin from your ears with their screaming.

But everyone is applauded in loud and friendly Budweiser bar — a mandatory stop in Yokosuka’s Honch for those who need to belt one out for an appreciative and raucous audience.

Budweiser — known to Honchcrawlers as “Bud’s” — is basically a large room with karaoke screens on the walls. There are some booths against the back wall and a dartboard.

But the majority of Bud’s customers mill about in the middle of the room, mixing, mingling and breaking into song when their turn is up.

It’s more like a crowded house party than a bar, which makes it an extremely comfortable place for people to sing their faces off.

People come for the fun more than anything, said manager Masami “Masa” Nakamura.

“Nobody leaves the bar, even if the singing is bad,” Nakamura said. “Everyone is very supportive.”

Plus the bartenders will occasionally buy you songs, shoot party streamers at the crowd and keep you singing until 5 a.m., when you shake your fist at the searing sun and leave with your croaky voice in tow.

“I love this place,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Clarence Jones. “When it comes to karaoke and good times, there’s no bar like it.”

See previous After Hours reviews here.

Budweiser

Drink prices: Most beers are 600 yen; cocktails are from 700 yen.

Food: Full menu with Philippine dishes, pizzas, fried rice and chicken wings. The 1,000 yen “chicken combo” is the most popular.

Cover charge: None.

Entertainment: Karaoke for 200 yen per song, be prepared to wait on the weekends.

Clientele: Ninety-five percent American – most hailing from nearby Yokosuka Naval Base.

Dress: Come as you are, feel free to be punk.

Location: 1-8 Honcho — take a right after Hotel New Yokosuka and look for Bud’s black painted walls. Bar hours are: 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day.

b 046-825-9066

Web site: None.

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