Thanks to social media, novelty routines can catch fire quickly than you can say ‘dance craze’ and none more so than in Japan. In 2016, the hot trend was “the koi”, also known as “the love dance”, which was the theme song to a Japanese TV drama called Nigeru wa Hajidaga Yaku ni Tatsu, about a twentysomething live-in housekeeper who pretends she is married to her employer. Each episode ends with the cast dancing to the tune, which involves ‘cute’ gestures like tapping your chest and, like the Spice Girls, making 2-become-1 signs with your fingers, and has, like the Harlem Shake and Gangnam Style, since been interpreted thousands of times online, by celebrities, sports stars and even ambassadors at the US Embassy. But while viral dance phenomenons are common, the koi videos have been praised for, said the Japanese Times, “referencing the pop culture of another generation”. One such video features The Tomioka Dance Club throwing back to Japan’s bubble era in the 1980s (think shoulder-padded blazers and hair-sprayed bouffants) – a sign that while viral dance fads can whip Japanese millennials into a frenzy, they’ve got the potential to cut across generational divides, too.