[Children's Songs] Cute songs recommended for childcare. List of popular nursery rhymes.
Kids love to sing!
Singing is a form of exercise, nurtures interest in language, and helps develop expressiveness and a sense of rhythm.
It’s also said that singing releases “happy hormones,” making it effective for relieving stress.
Bring plenty of music into daily life and sing freely together with your children.
This time, we’re introducing popular children’s songs we’d love you to sing and play with your kids!
We’ve collected everything from classic nursery rhymes passed down through the years to the latest hit songs.
You can search songs by category—animals, vehicles, food, and more—so you’re sure to find the perfect tune for your children.
If you add simple choreography or hand-play motions as well as singing, the kids will be thrilled!
Be sure to explore a variety of nursery rhymes and enjoy happy times with your children!
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Fairy Tale Songs (1–10)
Song of a Little BirdNEW!Kato Ichika / Kinjo Narumi
A charming song that everyone can enjoy by mimicking the chirps that herald the arrival of spring.
It depicts little birds calling for their mothers and fathers with song, and their endearing presence warms the heart.
If you shape a beak with your hands and move them to the rhythm, you can play as if you’ve become a little bird yourself.
This children’s song is performed by Ichika Kato and Narumi Kinjo, popular on the educational YouTube channel, and is included on albums such as “BonBon Academy: Songs of Spring,” to be released in April 2025.
Long cherished at BonBon Academy, operated by Kodansha, this song is perfect for March, when children graduate from preschool or move up a grade, and for parents and kids heading out on a springtime stroll.
Humming it under the warm sunshine will make children’s smiles shine even brighter.
Ushiwakamaru
When people hear “Ushiwakamaru,” they often think of the famous children’s song about his duel with Musashibō Benkei on the Gojō Bridge.
However, this song recounts the exploits of Ushiwakamaru—Minamoto no Yoshitsune—from his training on Mount Kurama all the way to the Battle of Dan-no-ura.
It’s a perfect children’s song for learning history!
Urashima Tarorainbow moon
Many old tales end with “they lived happily ever after,” but some people seem to dislike this story because it ends poorly.
This piece stays faithful to the content of the Urashima Taro legend.
It vividly depicts the glittering splendor of the Dragon Palace, so please be sure to let them listen to it!
MomotaroOkanoteiichi
This is a song that turns the famous folktale Momotaro into music, and little children love it.
I think most people know the first verse, but there are actually lyrics up to the second verse.
The second verse is quite intense, so it seems that people mostly only sing up to the first verse, but singing just the first verse is enough for everyone to enjoy.
Issun-bōshi (The One-Inch Boy)Tamura Torazō
This is also a song based on a nursery rhyme.
Issun-bōshi, who is only about the size of a finger, sets off on a journey in a little bowl, meets a princess, and encounters an ogre.
Even when he’s swallowed by the ogre, he defeats it using a fighting style only someone small could manage—so cool, right? It’s a nursery rhyme that gives children courage!
Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom)Tamura Torazō
This song is the one that sings about the famous folktale “Hanasaka Jiisan.” It’s an easy-to-understand story even for children: when it’s the honest old man, gold coins appear, but when it’s the mean old man, no coins come out.
It lets children feel that “good things happen when you’re honest!”
KintaroTamura Torazō
People often say they remember the costume but not the story of Kintaro.
In short, it’s a happy tale in which the strong Kintaro helps animals, and a samurai who witnesses this scouts him.
Kintaro has even been made into a song like this.
I hope children can understand the Kintaro folktale by listening to this song.