Well, if you speak any Japanese at all Then maybe this one was rather easy But if you don't speak any at all This one might be kind of hard Well, the sound is actually coming from the Yakiimo roasted sweet potato song Usually played in the winter by a truck vendor Cruising the neighborhood, selling their warm sweet potatoes The Japanese version of the ice cream truck on cold days These Yakiimo trucks actually became popular Since they could move to high traffic areas in the winter Where people wanted warm snacks And this song itself was made in Tokyo Based on the vague idea of the original Yakiimo song There were many variations But before the 60s, when the cassette tape became popular The version became standard For some reason, when I hear this song I kind of feel a little bit cold and also hungry at the same time Number four Let's try this one I'll give you a clue This song is not the Don Quixote song Which everyone already knows I thought that one would be too easy This song is actually from Yodobashi Camera Which plays non-stop And the melody was adapted from the song Battle Hymn of the Republic The founder Terukazu Fujisawa himself wrote the lyrics And since the main store was at Shinjuku West Exit He incorporated the Yamanote train line and Chuo train line in the lyrics So people could know where the store was located For me, it's just as catchy as the Don Quixote song Where they both forever just get stuck in your head At least for the day Number five Let's see if you've heard this one before Three, two, one So this one varies from area to area But it's basically Japan's afternoon go-home song It's played on the loudspeakers throughout the neighborhood Including parks In my Tokyo neighborhood, it plays at 5 p.m. every day Signaling everyone that it's getting late And it's time to make your way home Interestingly, it serves another purpose It's a daily test to ensure the proper working order Of the neighborhood's emergency system Used for major earthquakes or any other major disaster events That need warning Even in the event of a power outage The system can continue to broadcast using its own battery So this is one of those sounds that I recognized early on But didn't know what it was for until much, much later I'm just glad that this sound is actually pretty calming You know what one of the sounds I love the most coming from Japan?

AND WE'LL JOIN TOGETHER IN OUR HYMN-OF-THE-DAY, HYMN 549.

And it is always a hymn.

While locked in detention as his elves hit the gym, Santa and friends sang a new Christmas hymn.

The breeze is whisp'ring you a hymn of the ocean

So we passed out hymn sheets, and I led the group in singing.

The minister gave out the hymn and read it through with a relish in a peculiar style which was much admired in that part of the country.

[Fair Harvard Hymn with marching band music.]

It's summed up nicely by Julia Ward Howe's words to the song that would become famous as the battle hymn of the Republic, "As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." You thought I was going to sing,

It opened with a traditional hymn that added solemnity and a sense of continuity with the past.