What is a kaomoji?
Kaomoji (顔文字, "face characters") are Japanese emoticons built from Unicode symbols, like (◕‿◕). Unlike sideways Western smileys such as :-), you read them upright.
How do you type kaomoji?
The easiest way is to copy them: tap any face on this page and paste it anywhere. Japanese keyboards on iPhone and Android also have a ^_^ key with a built-in kaomoji list.