Learning Japanese by singing along

Several years before I was taught to read and sing the traditional song 「さくら、さくら」("Sakura, sakura") in introductory Japanese class, I recall driving my father's 1963 Ford Galaxie and humming along to the melody of Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki Song," broadcast over WFAY AM radio in North Carolina.

Who would have thought that just a few years later I would be transplanted to another continent, where I learned that 「上を向いて歩こう」("Ue wo muite arukō," "I look up as I walk") was the real title of Sakamoto's song. An entertainment writer in Newsweek magazine once scoffed that naming Sakamoto's song "Sukiyaki" was analogous to changing the name of "Moon River" to "Beef Stew."

I fully confess to not having a pleasant singing voice, but for me Japanese popular songs have been, and still remain, a valuable and enjoyable springboard to learning the language.