[Tear-Jerking] Classic and Recommended Love Ballads
This is a playlist that spotlights ballads among love songs—nothing but love ballads.
These ballads are filled with tender, heartrending emotions unique to romance, from sorrowful love to songs that gently draw you in.
There are nights when you just want to dive into love ballads and have a good cry, right?
We’ve gathered a wide selection, from recent hits to timeless classics.
Even when they describe happiness, they somehow bring tears—so immerse yourself in these exquisite love ballads and let it all out.
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[Tearjerkers] Classic and Recommended Love Ballads (21–30)
Close your eyesHirai Ken
When it comes to love songs, you can’t leave out Ken Hirai’s 20th single.
Released in 2004, it was written as the theme song for the film Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World.
Created as an answer song to a movie that contemplates love and life through the story of a high school girl battling leukemia, its worldview—depicting a deep love for someone you can never meet again—never fails to bring tears to your eyes.
The lyrics, which capture the aching feelings for a beloved person who has vanished from your life, naturally draw you in.
And beyond sorrow, it’s a love song that makes you want to cherish what your loved one gave you and keep living with that in your heart.
TSUNAMISazan Ōrusutāzu
A beloved national love song cherished by people of all ages.
The beautiful lyrics evoke a faint summer romance by the sea—so lovely, aren’t they? I think everyone has a past that’s beautiful, yet painful and heartbreaking.
The sorrow and loneliness you feel when you lose a love that once felt like the best.
When you look back, there’s that slightly bittersweet feeling, a world that captures moments so dazzling they seemed to sparkle—truly masterful.
It’s a fragile, fleeting love song that lets anyone—young or old—slip back for a moment to a time of innocence.
Snow BlossomNakajima Mika
A masterpiece that seems to bring out the full allure of Mika Nakashima’s crystal-clear vocals.
Released in 2003, it drew fresh attention in 2019 when a romance film inspired by the song was released.
In the movie, the protagonist, who has been frail since childhood, gradually finds courage and turns dreams into reality, portraying a beautiful love story.
The song’s world is likewise filled with poignant, beautiful feelings of love.
Even while holding onto anxiety, gazing at the “snow flowers” that seem to bring two people closer, one feels happiness.
Surrender yourself gently to this romantic world.
LOVE LETTERMakihara Noriyuki
Do you know the hidden gem by Noriyuki Makihara that portrays a faint, letter-bound first love? Centered around an undelivered love letter, it delicately captures the emotions of a protagonist seeing off someone dear who is leaving for a distant job.
The imagery—twilight at the station and scenes along the tracks—feels so vivid it tightens the listener’s chest with a poignant ache.
The song was included on the album UNDERWEAR, released in October 1996, and was later used as the theme for NTT East’s corporate commercial “Mother,” featuring Yui Aragaki.
This piece rekindles the unspoken kindness we couldn’t put into words and the bittersweet memories of youth.
It’s a song to savor, especially for those who’ve experienced a springtime parting or who carry unspoken feelings in their hearts.
Song of LoveKōda Kumi
Released in September 2007 as her 37th single, this work is a deeply resonant ballad in which Kumi Koda sings from a new perspective she realized through giving love advice to friends and fans: “love is something you give.” She found inspiration while driving along the coast on a getaway to a hot spring inn, and wrote the lyrics immediately upon arrival.
They delicately portray a young woman’s aching heart as she senses a breakup approaching yet tries to convey unwavering love.
The song was featured in the MTI “music.jp” commercial and served as a support song for Fuji TV’s World Judo 2007.
Composed entirely of Kumi Koda’s vocals without any backing chorus, it centers on mid-to-low registers, making it easy to sing even for those who struggle with high notes, and it’s a track anyone who has experienced the end of a romance can relate to.
A New StorySuzuki Emiko
A pure-love ballad by Emiko Suzuki that delicately portrays the special brilliance hidden in everyday life.
Listening to it makes you realize that the days of laughing and crying on repeat are, in fact, an irreplaceable story.
Released in advance in February 2022 as the lead track from the album “5 senses,” it drew attention for its tie-in with a bridal jewelry brand on TV Asahi’s “Promercial.” It’s a piece we hope you’ll listen to if you’re feeling the desire to cherish the time you spend with your partner anew.
Maplesupittsu
A ballad that sings of the resolve to live on with the pain of parting.
Those warm days when even casual exchanges with a loved one—and the ache in your heart—were all wrapped in their smile.
Yet even as the protagonist accepts a daily life that will never return, the way they move forward as if embracing a voice is deeply moving.
After being included on the album “Fake Fur,” it was released in July 1998 as a double A-side single with “Spica.” It has been used in numerous dramas, including as an insert song for Fuji TV’s “Over Time” and in NTV’s “Zambi.” It’s a song that gently stays by the side of anyone who can’t stop dwelling on a lost love or who can’t forget someone dear.
Masamune Kusano’s clear, translucent vocals deliver a ray of hope within the sorrow.