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

Chagpon DanceSakushi Sakkyoku: Tada Joji

[Let’s all dance♪] Chagupon Dance! [Perfect for little kids too!]

This song, inspired by Iwate’s traditional event Chagu Chagu Umakko, is a local dance tune that parents and children can enjoy together along with Takizawa City’s official character.

Written and composed by Joji Tada, with choreography by the Iwate Prefectural University dance club, it was first performed on stage at the university festival “Jipusai” in October 2022.

The dance features cute, horse-riding-like movements and simple steps that even young children can easily imitate.

Set to a Vocaloid singing voice, it’s fun to move your body along, and the whole family can dance together while watching the video on the city’s official YouTube channel.

It’s used at local festivals and health-promotion events and is cherished as a song that fosters affection for the hometown.

Adorable foalSakushi: Satō Hachirō / Sakkyoku: Niki Takio

Adorable Foal - Children's Song - Showa-era Song - Radio Kayō / National Kayō - With Lyrics

This song warmly portrays the life of a foal and a child, while carrying a curious, poignant sense of the times quietly creeping in.

You dry the foal’s wet mane, run together, and eventually part ways.

Such scenes unfold alongside rhythmic calls and responses.

The lyricist, Hachirō Satō, was active across a wide range from children’s songs to popular music, and the composer, Takio Niki, was a seasoned talent also known for film scores.

The work was released in December 1940 and broadcast nationwide the following January 1941 on NHK’s “National Songs.” It is closely connected to the film “Uma” (Horse), and has long been loved, later even featured in animated films.

Singing it as a family invites reflections on life in earlier times, and in early childhood settings it can be enjoyed as a play activity by imitating a foal’s movements.

Song of the Resounding GrasslandsSakushi: Kubota Yuzuru Sakkyoku: Maruyama Aki

Perfect for a play: “Song of the Echoing Grassland (Suho’s White Horse)” / “Grassland Love Song”!

This piece opens a series based on Mongolian folk tales.

Poet Yuzuru Kubota and composer Aki Maruyama joined forces, and it was first unveiled at a premiere concert held at the Nagoya Civic Hall in May 2000.

It was later formally published in September 2002 as the opening number in the score collection Aki Maruyama Song Collection [Supplement]: Suho’s White Horse.

The lyrics weave in images of a steppe where wind and light resonate, and its bright, easy-to-sing melody makes it accessible for children.

It works beautifully in many settings—sung alongside a story reading in schools or preschools, or used as an introductory piece for recitals and concerts.

Run, Kotaro!Sakushi: Ikeda Kenkichi / Sakkyoku: Ikeda Kenkichi, Maeda Nobuo

Run, Kotaro — Showa 45 (sung by Salty Sugar), lyrics by Kenkichi Ikeda, music by Kenkichi Ikeda and Nobuo Maeda

Released in July 1970 as a parody of horse-racing commentary, this Salty Sugar track sings out an imaginary derby in a comical, announcer-style delivery.

The lyrics were written by Kenkichi Ikeda, and the music was co-composed by Ikeda and Nobuo Maeda.

Its charm lies in a high-energy arrangement that fuses acoustic guitar, handclaps, and shouted calls.

The song topped the Oricon weekly chart and won the New Artist Award at the Japan Record Awards.

It later became a staple as background music for school sports days, was adapted with new lyrics for the 1996 anime Midori no Makibaō, and was covered in 2018 for Uma Musume: Pretty Derby—remaining beloved across generations.

It’s a perfect pick for enjoying announcer-style singing with kids or hyping up a sports event.

KintaroSakushi: Ishihara Wasaburō / Sakkyoku: Tamura Torazō

Kintarō [Children's Song] Lyrics: Wasaburō Ishihara / Music: Torazō Tamura

This is a children’s song that depicts a sturdy boy wrestling a bear on Mount Ashigara.

Written by Wasaburō Ishihara and composed by Torazō Tamura, it was published in June 1900 in “Shōnen Shōka, First Edition, Upper Volume.” As a representative children’s song that sings about a folktale hero in words familiar to children, it remains beloved today.

The bold figure carrying a hatchet and practicing horse-riding is vividly expressed through a lively two-beat rhythm and spirited calls that make it easy to sing while moving the body.

Because it conveys strength and energy, it’s perfect for singing with children in childcare settings or at home who are starting to take an interest in animals and folktales.

Add handclaps and gestures while singing, and it’s sure to be even more exciting.

Foal’s Rhythm PlayMonbushō shōka

A nursery teacher plays the piano for the rhythm activity “Little Foal”! Sheet music included

This children’s song, which depicts a lively foal moving forward to the chant “Hai-shii, hai-shii,” was included in the Ministry of Education’s Shoka for the Elementary School Reader, edited in July 1910 (Meiji 43).

Its hallmark is the way it expresses the foal’s hoofbeats—pressing on along mountain paths and up steep slopes—through an even beat and rhythm.

Today it is used in early childhood education and eurhythmics as a “rhythm play” activity, ideal for children to walk, run, and stop in time with the piano.

Because changes in pitch and tempo can be expressed through body movement, it’s perfect for group movement play and parent–child bonding time.

By imitating a horse’s gait, it offers a fun way to foster a sense of rhythm.

Mountain MusiciansDoitsu min’yō

[Children’s Song] Yama no Ongakuka / Daisuke Yokoyama

An endearing, picture book-like piece in which the animals of the forest become musicians and hold a concert.

In this song, mountain friends like squirrels and little birds appear one after another, each showing off their favorite instrument.

With a structure that layers on words imitating the timbre of the instruments, it carries a lively joy that makes your body start moving all on its own.

It became widely known in Japan after being featured in April 1964 on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” sung by Dark Ducks.

Since then, it has been sung for many years on educational programs and the like.

Part of its charm is that you can enjoy it with gestures and hand motions, too.