One of the questions asked during the Anniversary Giveaway was why Japanese people like cute (kawaii) things so much, as is evident in the cult of kyaraben or charaben. I'm not really sure of the answer to be honest, but it is true that from children to adults, women and even some men, love things that are cute and childlike. It may stem for the appreciation for detail in small objects like netsuke. Or maybe Japanese people are just a bit childish?

Or, maybe it's because from a very young age, Japanese kids are exposed to kawaii culture. This is from a childrens' program that airs on the NHK Education channel (NHK is the state-run TV station, equivalent to the BBC) called いないないばあっ！　(inai inai baa), which is also the name of the game you play with babies 'Now you see me...Now you don't!'. It's aimed at 0 to 2 year olds, and is the highest rated kid's show on the NHK. This song is called おにぎりぽん！(onigiri pon! - replaced the original one with one with English fansubs!)

The song is just about making onigiri with a 'nigi nigi' gesture (see the little girl's hands) and various places to go with some onigiri packed - the park, the sea, the mountains, with friends. As an uhm, adult, I can't stand a lot of childrens' programming, but I can watch this over and over all day. Maybe I've been brainwashed from birth.

Some more food-themed tunes from Inai Inai Baa - Ton Ton Tomato-chan:

And, Ocha Ocha Cha cha! (Tea Tea Chacha!) (Also replaced this one since the one I posted before has, uh, disappeared. Now if this one is also made to disappear, then I know that some Powers That Be are reading this blog ^_^;:)

Have a great weekend!