[Grateful for Encounters] A Collection of Classic Songs Celebrating Cherished Meetings [Love & Friendship]
When you hear “a song about encounters,” what kind of meeting do you imagine?
Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is a man and woman meeting in a romantic context!
But there are many kinds of encounters—between friends, between teammates—and there are songs that celebrate each kind of meeting.
In this article, I’ll introduce songs themed around all sorts of encounters!
Just as people say “after parting comes a new meeting,” some songs that seem at first glance to be about farewells are actually about encounters when you look closely at the lyrics!
We’ll be introducing lots of songs, so read on to the end!
- [Thank-You Song] A song to convey your feelings of “thank you” to someone special
- [Song of Destiny] Love songs to listen to when you meet your destined person
- A bright song about comrades. A roundup of classic tracks that make you feel the bonds.
- [A New Love Song] A romance song themed around meeting someone
- Only masterpieces that color the season of meetings and farewells! Spring songs recommended for Gen Z.
- [Tears of Joy] Beautiful Friendship Songs with Lyrics You’ll Want to Gift to a Dear Friend
- A gratitude song for friends. A thank-you song dedicated to someone special.
- [Song of Gratitude] Timeless classics and the latest tracks that convey heartfelt “thank you” to your seniors
- Mutual love, unrequited love, familial love... classic songs that sing about affection
- Friendship Songs: Rediscover Your Bonds! A Carefully Curated Selection of Moving Masterpieces That Will Bring You to Tears
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- Emotional songs to listen to in spring: a collection of masterpieces that suit the season of meetings and farewells.
- Love, bonds, parting, cheers… songs so moving they pierce the heart and make you cry uncontrollably
[Grateful for Encounters] A Collection of Classic Songs Celebrating Cherished Meetings [Love & Friendship] (61–70)
Best FriendNishino Kana
“Best Friend” is a song Kana Nishino wrote for her own friend.
Because the lyrics express gratitude toward a friend, it’s also popular at weddings as a song from friends to the bride—or from the bride to her friends.
The straightforward words about how this friend understands you even better than family and keeps you smiling all the time may feel a bit embarrassing, but receiving a song like this would make anyone happy.
It’s a friendship anthem that makes you think, “I want to meet a friend like this!”
Like a song that will be passed down and sungYamaguchi Momoe
This song is included on Momoe Yamaguchi’s album “Momoe Hakusho,” released in May 1977, with lyrics and music by the duo Yoko Aki and Ryudo Uzaki.
The album reached a peak position of No.
3 on the Oricon chart.
It’s a poignant yet beautiful number themed around song and life.
Angel BlossomMizuki Nana
It’s a single by Nana Mizuki released in April 2015, and it was used as the opening theme for the TV anime Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, in which Mizuki herself also appeared as a voice actor.
It ranked second on the Oricon daily chart.
Encounter.. feat. RED RICE, BIG RONKyūshūdan
This song was created by reggae singer Kusuo, featuring Shonan no Kaze’s RED RICE and hip-hop artist BIG RON.
As the title suggests, it’s a track themed around the moment of romantic encounter.
You may have experienced love at first sight the instant you met someone for the first time—this song is exactly about that.
It portrays a romance that begins with a chance meeting and a man who musters his courage to confess his feelings.
When this song was released, many listeners likely drew strength from it.
MissingKubota Toshinobu
A track included on Toshinobu Kubota’s first original album, “SHAKE IT PARADISE,” released in 1986.
Although it was never released as a single, it has been covered by many artists and is considered one of Kubota’s signature songs.
The song depicts an extramarital affair, conveying a poignant feeling of “if only we had met earlier.”
Futabaaimyon
It’s a message song by Aimyon that stays close to the loneliness of parting while gently speaking about the bright future that awaits beyond it.
Built on the calm sound of acoustic guitar, with strings and band elements added as accents, it emphasizes a grand atmosphere that feels like it’s being addressed to many people.
Centered on the theme of growing into adulthood, it softly reminds us that the memories we’ve built up during our school days become the strength that carries us into the future.
It’s a song that expresses a powerful cheer: the courage to overcome hardships exists within each person’s heart.
SAKURA DropsUtada Hikaru
This is a single by Hikaru Utada released in May 2002, which reached number one on the Oricon weekly chart.
It is the theme song for the TV drama “First Love.” Incidentally, there’s an anecdote that thanks to this song, Sakuma Drops saw an increase in sales.