Watching Kids TV In Japan
By billywest • Jun 2nd, 2008 • Category: The Latest
Come on, admit it. You live in Japan, and sometimes you watch kids’ TV here. Hey, there’s nothing to be ashamed of; it’s good for Japanese language beginners who want to start simple when building listening and other basic skills. I studied Japanese for two years before coming to live in Japan and found Japanese children’s programs to be a nice fit for my listening level; That’s to say that they were the only programs in which I could understand 100% of what was going on. I’ve advanced my Japanese skills a bit since then, but now and then, I like to turn on channel 3 in the afternoon and watch a little Pitagora Suichi or Nihongo De Asobo!
Algorithm March/Gymnastics - Pitagora Suichi (Pythagora’s Switch) TV Program
The two guys in the salaryman suits who do the Algorithm March/Gymnastics segments in the video above are fun to watch. They’re also well-known for their stand-up comedy routines.
Dominos And Other Gizmoes - Pitagora Suichi (Amazing Stuff!)
Check out some of the amazing setups and executions in the above video. People set these things up all over the world and many of them are shown on kids TV programs.
Aiida Aida - Nihongo De Asobo
The dance in the above video became so popular that the kids at several of the elementary schools I used to teach at would do it for their undoukais. The only adult in this video is Kane Kosugi, son of Sho Kosugi, who starred in several low-budget ninja action flicks in the 1980’s made by Canon Films. For those of you Chuck Norris fans out there, Canon was responsible for such movie masterpieces as Invasion U.S.A. and Missing In Action.
Eric the what-do-you-like-to-do guy - Eigo De Asobo
If you teach English to kids in Japan long enough, you may end up like the guy in the above video.
So, even if you don’t have kids, you can see that a little Japanese kids TV can be fun, right? Right?!!
Oh, Crap! I’ve ended up like Eric.
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billywest is a resident of South Tokyo and lives on the Toyoko line.
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Cool Japan Kids TV | 7:10 to Tokyo…
Kids have much better stuff to watch here than I had when I was a tyke. I mean, come on now; Sesame Street. That’s crap! Electric Company with Morgan Freeman was cool, though.
Anyway, these vids are worth checking out….
Everyday with my son. Our favorite shows are Inai Inai Baa and Okasan to Issho. Love ‘em to bits.
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Yep, Me too!
He loves the baloons on Okasan to Issho and I love the mechanical scenes on Pitakoa Switchi.
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I am very familiar with the NHK kids shows because that is what my son watches.
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Japanese kids’ TV definitely helps my Japanese skills.
What’s the one with the train driver with round glasses, and the bear?
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You mean the one where the guy teaches kids to make interesting stuff out of crap lying around the house?
I think it’s called ‘Waku Waku-kun’ or something. Haha. I know that… Scary.
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I don’t have kids (yet), but I’ll admit that sometimes while channel surfing on a slow Monday afternoon, I’ll stop when I see a kids show and practice some of my poor speaking and listening skills. The way I see it, if I can understand a TV program aimed at 4 and 5 year olds, then my Japanese skills are better than they were a year ago. It’s sad … but hopefully these kiddy shows will act as a gateway drug, enabling me to comprehend other shows such as Hexagon, Five Bomber, and Change <– thank God for subtitles when it comes to Japanese dramas.
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I dated a girl with a kid here one time and I have to say, they both taugh me a lot of Japanese. I’m sure your kid will teach you a lot.
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Been here 6 years and I don’t know any of em’!!!!
Thank god!!….Thank YOU god for keeping me too busy to know what the kids in my classes are chillin’ to on the tube.
Blissfully ignorant
or
Ignorantly blissfull
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Are you implying that I have too much time on my hands?
Well, the way things are going these days, I can’t say you’re wrong
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Kids have too much energy. Great post, I enjoyed Pitagora Suichi, but I admit I couldn’t watch any video all the way through. I feel sorry for those who have children, in any culture! If/When I have kids, I hope they don’t like tv. Oh, and that they don’t throw up or need toilet training.
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Liked this post. I think learning anything like a kid would is the most natural way to learn something. As we get older, we forget how we learned most of the things we now know (that was taught to us at an early age).
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