[Children's Songs] Cute songs recommended for childcare. List of popular nursery rhymes.

pine coneLyrics by Takao Hirota / Music by Tsyae Kobayashi

Pine Cone [Children’s Song] [With Motions] by Big Sister Hinata & Luke

Pine Cones was created in 1936.

The lyricist, Takao Hirota, was a first-grader at the time, and his teacher, Tsuyae Kobayashi, set his poem to music.

With simple lyrics about animals in the mountains eating nuts, it’s appealing because even young children can sing it.

Many of you may know it from NHK’s popular children’s program, With Mother.

Many nursery schools and kindergartens enjoy using this song for hand-play and rhythm activities, so be sure to sing it for indoor autumn play.

Donguri KorokoroLyrics by Aoki Sonetsugi / Music by Yanada Tei

Japanese Children’s Song – Acorn Rolling – Donguri Korokoro

In autumn, you can find lots of little acorns scattered along the paths, right? The song “Donguri Korokoro” tells a charming story about such acorns.

It begins with a lightweight acorn that rolls and rolls until it falls into a pond.

At first, it has fun playing in the water with a kind loach, but gradually it becomes homesick and wants to return to the mountain where it came from.

The lyrics are a bit bittersweet, but when you sing it, sing cheerfully—and make sure to collect lots of acorns!

Yakiimo goo-choki-paLyrics by Hiroo Sakata / Music by Naosumi Yamamoto

Yakiimo goo-choki-pa

Perfect for autumn, when roasted sweet potatoes are at their tastiest, is “Yakiimo Goo Chaa Paa,” a song you can also enjoy as a hand-play game.

It’s the ideal tune for the season of hearty appetites, depicting roasting sweet potatoes and savoring them.

Try acting out with your hands how hot the potatoes are and the motions of eating, in time with the lyrics.

There’s even a rock-paper-scissors part at the end of the song.

While you’re waiting for the sweet potatoes to finish roasting, sing and play along with friends or family! The more you sing, the hungrier you’ll get.

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autumn sky

5. Autumn Sky

Under the clear autumn sky, the song “Akino Sora” makes you want to sing.

As the humidity drops and a refreshing breeze blows, autumn is the perfect season for field trips and strolls.

In this kind of autumn, you can’t help but raise your voice a little, trying to send it far, just like in the song.

Like shouting “Yoo-hoo!” from a mountaintop, calling out loudly toward the beautiful sky is bound to feel great! If you sing out loud—and even give a shout—you’ll feel as refreshed as the autumn sky.

When you’re lucky enough to meet a pleasant autumn sky, be sure to try it just like in this song.

Dragonfly, dragonfly.

Autumn Children’s Song [Dragonfly, Dragonfly] Hamamatsu City

Among the insects often seen in autumn are dragonflies, and this time I’d like to introduce a children’s song about them.

The song is short and easy to remember! You can just sing it, but you can also move your fingers in little circles as if catching a dragonfly, make big circles with your arms, or even spin your whole body around.

There are no set rules for how to play—feel free to express the dragonfly however you like as you sing.

It’s also fun to use props, like singing while flying a dragonfly made from origami, or slipping a ribbon between a pair of chopsticks to flutter in the wind.

Full Moon Night's Mochi Pounding

Children’s song: Mochi Pounding on the Night of the Fifteenth Moon

You often hear the story that on the night of the Harvest Moon, rabbits are pounding mochi on the moon, right? If you don’t want to lose to those rabbits, you can enjoy pounding mochi yourself on the night of the Harvest Moon with this hand-clapping game, “Jūgoya-san no Mochitsuki.” It’s a hand play song for pairs: the two of you pound mochi like the rabbits inside the moon.

One person keeps both hands opening up and down, clapping rhythmically—ton, ton, ton, ton.

The other person kneads and pounds the mochi, trying not to get their hands caught between the claps.

It looks simple, but if your timing is off, it quickly gets confusing—surprisingly tricky! Be sure to enjoy it on the night of the Harvest Moon!

Voices of InsectsLyrics and composition: Ministry of Education shōka (school song)

Cries of Insects — Ministry of Education Shoka (School Song)

When we think of autumn’s pleasures, maple leaves and the harvest moon certainly come to mind, but isn’t the chorus of insects that colors the long autumn nights one of them as well? It’s also the season when the songs of many autumn insects—like crickets and katydids—are at their most beautiful.

This is a delightful children’s song that sets those insects’ voices to lyrics, doubling the joy of autumn.