Our rice cookers and water boilers are practical. They’re technologically advanced. They’re stylish. And they’re…whimsical!

Until 1999, our appliances used standard beep sounds to indicate when the rice cooker or water boiler had started and finished their settings. We realized that so many appliances existed together in our customers’ kitchens that it was difficult to know which appliance was beeping. So, as part of our tradition of smart design, we programmed our rice cookers and water boilers to play a tune instead of beeping.

Zojirushi Rice Cooker Circa 1999

And now we’re known for our whimsical, musical and oh-so-familiar “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” tune which plays at the beginning of a setting. And when a course is finished, the lyrical tune of “Amaryllis” plays!

While this feature is definitely one of our more lighthearted and fun ones, there is a solid technological foundation to adding tunes to our appliances. Each appliance needed a microcomputer in the control panel, and that technology was introduced in the late 1990s. Further, microcomputers needed to be programmable, and the manufacturers were able to sequence a series of beeps to make a tune.

We loved it then and we love it now. And so do our fun friends. Just check out this incredibly cute video on our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwNkZ1eh7NR/.

Let us know if you love these songs, too! And if you have a suggestion for a future product!