Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about food
“Food” is something very familiar to children, isn’t it?
When they start speaking, many first learn words like “mamma,” or they remember the names of their favorite foods.
In this article, we’ve picked out “songs about food” from among many nursery rhymes.
We’ll introduce plenty of songs that feature foods kids love, like fruit, bread, and curry rice.
Some of them aren’t just for singing—you can enjoy hand games and dancing, too.
Even children who find eating difficult or are picky eaters might enjoy singing these songs.
It would be great if singing during mealtimes helps them have more fun and eat a little more.
- [Food Songs] Popular Japanese songs that use names of foods
- [Rice Songs] A selection of tracks where food appears in the lyrics!
- Vegetable Song: A Recommended Food Education Song for Children
- [2026] Candy and sweets songs: sugary tunes that make you crave dessert when you listen
- [Hand Play] Popular with kids! A collection of trendy hand-play songs and nostalgic traditional children’s songs
- [Animal Song] Fun nursery rhymes popular with children
- Snake Song: Children's song, nursery rhyme, and hand-play song
- [2026] Songs about cooking: A roundup of recommended Japanese classics
- Nursery rhymes to sing in spring: a collection of classic songs you'll want to sing with your children
- [Children’s Songs of Autumn] Autumn songs, school songs, and traditional children’s rhymes. A collection of classic pieces to sing in autumn.
- A lunchbox song to sing with kids. A bento song that makes school lunch more fun.
- [June Nursery Rhymes] Perfect for the rainy season! A fun collection of hand-play songs and traditional children’s songs
- [Vegetable Songs] Unexpected artists too!? A roundup of recommended tracks
Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about food (11–20)
mixed juice
Since this song features many fruits throughout, children can enjoy learning the names of various fruits as they listen.
Even kids who aren’t fond of fruit might come to like it thanks to this song.
It’s great to sing together with parents or teachers, and it’s also fun to sing with friends.
Plus, because the fruits are used as examples for facial features, it helps practice learning the parts of the face as well.
It’s like killing two birds with one stone—so much knowledge in a single song.
The song is short and simple, so it’s easy to remember.
cream stewSakushi: Abe Megumi / Sakkyoku: Nakagori Toshihiko
When it comes to hand-play songs that make the process of cooking something delicious fun, this is the one! You can use your whole body to show preparing ingredients, stir-frying, and simmering, so kids are sure to love it.
Written by Megumi Abe and composed by Toshihiko Nakagōri, this piece is perfect for a bit of food education or a quick activity before school lunch, helping children learn vegetable names and mimic cooking movements.
Since being included in Abe’s book “Teasobi Uta Asobi,” published in June 1998, it has been cherished for many years in early childhood education settings.
If everyone pretends to cook together and then strikes a finishing pose at the end, you can share a sense of accomplishment.
How about enjoying a make-believe delicious stew with family and friends while feeling the refreshing May breeze?
One apple piemiyazaki mieko
This is a nursery rhyme about sharing snacks like apple pie.
It teaches the importance of not keeping everything to yourself and sharing with everyone.
It also subtly highlights how tricky it can be to divide things into odd numbers, like thirds or fifths!
loquatIsobe Shū
It portrays a very sweet loquat.
Both the melody and the choice of lyrics are gentle, making it feel like listening to a lullaby.
It’s a recommended song for kids who like loquats.
A bamboo shoot has sprouted.warabeuta asobi
A children’s hand-play song that vividly expresses the growth of bamboo shoots, which are in season from spring to early summer.
Through hand motions, kids enjoy the story of a sprout emerging from the soil, a flower blooming with a pop, and finally being snipped with scissors.
Because the rock-paper-scissors hand shapes—fist, scissors, and open hand—are naturally built into the actions, it’s also perfect for helping children learn the rules of the game.
Though it’s a traditional folk song passed down through generations, its introduction on children’s programs like those on NHK has helped it become a familiar group activity in preschools and kindergartens.
It typically ends with everyone chanting “Essa, essa!” together and deciding the winner with rock-paper-scissors.
On a fresh May day under the blue sky, get moving energetically with your family and friends!
Mysterious PocketWatanabe Shigeru
The song “Fushigi na Pocket” is like a dream: when you pat your pocket, the biscuits inside keep increasing.
Adults might think, “Aren’t they just breaking apart?” but it’s a song wishing for a pocket like that.
It would be wonderful if it really existed, wouldn’t it?
Children’s songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes about food (21–30)
Dango Three BrothersUchi no Masumi
It’s a song about three skewered-dango brothers, playing on the words “dango” and “tango.” It topped the 1999 Oricon annual singles chart and is a famous song that won numerous awards, including the Special Award at the 41st Japan Record Awards, the Golden Arrow Award, and the Japan Gold Disc Award.