Morning Musume - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Not only elementary and middle school children but also adults in Japan are going wild over a popular music group called Morning Musume, or " Morning Girls." In 1998, the year of its formal debut, the group was named best new artist at the Japan Record Award, the most prestigious music award in Japan. All of its compact discs--three albums and eight singles--have been hits. The seventh and eighth singles, in particular, have both become million sellers.

Shingo Mama - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Recently, Japanese children have been greeting one another in the morning using the word "oh-ha!" The Japanese phrase for "good morning" is "ohayo gozaimasu." Among friends, this is shortened to "ohayo." By shortening this still further to "oh-ha," even little kids can say their morning greetings clearly and energetically.

Birthday Teddy - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Like girls anywhere in the world, Japanese girls love chocolate. If a free prize is attached to the chocolate that captures their hearts, it's only natural that its popularity would go through the roof.

Beyblades - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
"Three, two, one, go shoot!" Since the beginning of this year, there has been a sharp increase in the number of elementary school students who can be seen standing in circles in toy stores or on street corners calling out these words as they battle with tops. These kids are called "bladers," and they spin plastic tops in a dish-shaped "stadium" about 40 centimeters (16 inches) in diameter. Two players spin their tops at the same time, and the battle between the tops is so intense that sometimes even sparks can be seen. The match is won when one top pushes the other out of the stadium or spins longer than the other.

Mobile Suit Gundam - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
One of the most popular games in Japan right now is Gundam Federation VS Zeon (site is Japanese only). There are countless varieties of Gundam games, ranging from those played on consoles and cellular phones to Internet versions, and Gundam Federation VS Zeon is the newest of these. It is a PlayStation 2 game (a Dreamcast version will also come out in April 2002) and can be played over a network. In just three days following its release in December 2001, 650,000 units of the game were shipped, immediately making it the number-one bestseller.

Osakana Tengoku - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Right now in Japan, a song can be heard playing everywhere. The song, "Osakana Tengoku" (Fish Paradise), has a lively tune that gets people humming after hearing it only once. And the lyrics are also fun, being interspersed with the names of 31 kinds of fish.

Hikaru Utada - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
When Hikaru Utada debuted in December 1998 with the single "Automatic/Time Will Tell", the Japanese media hailed her as a singer of tremendous promise who had emerged like a meteor. And no wonder, because a 16-year-old singer born in New York City had appeared out of nowhere with superb singing skills and songs that she had written herself in the R&B (rhythm and blues) style.

Hand Games - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
These days, hand games are a favorite pastime among kids in Japan. Hand games, known in Japanese as te-asobi, are games played with just the hands or in which people sing a simple song and repeat a series of hand movements rhythmically, like clapping each other's hands. All you need to play a hand game is a partner. And the games can be as long or short as you like. During this year's rainy season (from June to July), when children often couldn't play outside because of rain, kids could be seen at every elementary school playing hand games during their free time.

Decorated Notebooks - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Middle and high school girls are going crazy over decorated notebooks called puricho. First they adorn their notebooks with purikura (instant photo-stickers printed at ”print club” booths). Then the girls decorate them further using more stickers and colored pens pencils, so that they become a kind of diary recording memories particular day or moment.

Print Club - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Print Club (known in Japanese as Purinto Kurabu, or Puri Kura for short) is a machine that lets you design and print out stickers with photos of your face on them. It's fast and easy. Ever since Print Club came out in the summer of 1995, it's been wildly popular among young people, especially junior-high-school and high-school girls. You can find Print Club machines on street corners all over Japan.

Camera Fever - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Nowadays, many Japanese high-school girls carry cameras in their bags. Rather than ordinary cameras, which are big and heavy, they usually carry disposable cameras, also known in Japan as "film-with-lens" cameras. So what do the girls take pictures of? Not necessarily anything special, just scenes from everyday life--for example, inside their classrooms.

Personal Organizers - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
More and more kids in Japan these days (especially high-school girls) are using personal organizers to keep track of their lives. There are two kinds of personal organizers: paper-based and electronic. Paper-based organizers are filing systems the size of a small notebook. They typically contain address books, calendars, pockets for papers or photos, and so on. Electronic organizers are small hand-held computers that can store addresses and phone numbers, schedules, dictionaries, and other information. Some electronic organizers even include communication features.

Nylon Tattoos - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
What's this? Are children in Japan tattooing their fingers and arms? Actually, they're wearing spiral-shaped, nylon accessories known as body wire. Besides being worn as rings and bracelets, they're being used as chokers, armlets, and anklets. They're all really easy to put on, since the pieces are highly elastic, and they cling to the skin in a way that makes the patterns stand out. Because they resemble tattoos, they're sometimes also called "wire tattoos." They were released in Japan in March 1999, and their popularity has taken off like no other accessory in recent times, especially with teenage girls.

Tarepanda - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Although this bean-faced panda looks as if it's just lying down absent-mindedly, it's actually doing a lot more than that: It's drawing the attention of Japanese girls and women across Japan, all the way from elementary-school kids to people in their thirties. The character has been named Tarepanda, because the Japanese word for drooping--which is what it's always doing--is tareru. Fans love the animal because, they say, the sight of it warms their hearts and helps them to relax.

Purikura - Monthly News - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
A popular pastime among Japanese teenage girls these days is getting together with friends to have their photo taken with the Print Club, a machine that produces 16 tiny gummed labels of the photos complete with decorative, often humorous borders.

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Web Japan : Category Search Results
Web Japan About This Site Site Map Privacy Policy Select Language simplified chinese Other Languages Search Category Search cagegory search Web Japan >> Category Search >> Tokyo Content trends

Web Japan : Category Search Results
Web Japan About This Site Site Map Privacy Policy Select Language simplified chinese Other Languages Search Category Search cagegory search Web Japan >> Category Search >> Tokyo Content trends