[Heisei Retro] Hit Japanese songs that defined the 1990s. Recommended J-POP classics.
When you think of the Japanese music scene of the ’90s, what kind of sounds come to mind? It was an era when million-selling hits kept emerging and CD sales marked a golden age for the music industry.
Hit songs poured from TV and radio into the streets, and everyone was humming the same tunes.
From guitar rock to dance music, from the Shibuya-kei movement to the Being-kei style, a wide variety of genres coexisted, each shining with its own unique brilliance in the ’90s.
In this article, we’ll introduce a selection of hit songs that colored that rich musical scene.
For those who lived through the era, they’ll feel nostalgic; for first-time listeners, they’ll sound fresh.
Please take your time and enjoy.
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[Heisei Retro] Hit Japanese songs that defined the ’90s. Recommended J-POP classics (141–150)
God of RomanceHirose Kōmi
It became a huge hit the moment it was tied in as the theme song for Alpen’s commercial.
Even now, when you think of a song you want to hear in winter, this is definitely the one! You hear it a lot at ski resorts, too.
In fact, just listening to it brings scenes of the slopes to mind.
Dear My FriendsNagayama Miho
This is a mid-tempo pop number by Miho Nakayama, whose warm message to close friends really resonates.
She wrote the lyrics herself, portraying the gentle way she watches over and cheers on a friend in love.
It has a lovely, letter-like warmth.
The track appears on her June 1993 album “Wagamamana Actress.” It’s the kind of song that can put you in a gentle mood when you’re thinking of a dear friend or driving on a summer day.
Those who feel a sense of nostalgia will surely find it touching as well.
POSTMANYoshikawa Koji
It’s a rock number by Koji Kikkawa with a powerful guitar sound that stirs the heart.
Released in October 1996 and included on the album “BEAT∞SPEED,” which reached No.
3 on the Oricon charts, this track grips you with lyrics that convey an earnest longing for unreachable “love” and “dreams,” and the burning, impatient feelings of a protagonist who waits for them.
The passionate vocals riding over the rugged, full-bodied sound still carry a poignant sense of seeking hope.
Listen to it on a summer night when you’re wishing hard for something, or when you feel like you might lose sight of tomorrow—surely it will light a spark in your heart.
EveOkui Masami
It’s a song that, when you listen to it at summer’s end, evokes a bittersweet resonance deep in your chest.
Sung by Masami Okui, the track takes Adam and Eve as its theme, portraying loneliness and the weight of a love that’s anything but straightforward.
Included on the album “Do-can,” released in September 1998, this piece is written and composed by Okui herself.
It’s one I’d especially recommend for quiet summer nights when you want to get lost in thought or immerse yourself in the song’s profound lyrical world.
Winter，againGLAY
With this song released in 1999, GLAY became champions once again, following their victory the previous year.
If it hadn’t been for the special phenomenon of “Dango 3 Kyodai,” they would have taken first place in both sales and the rankings, so it was quite a close call.
They finished second on the year-end chart, with sales reaching 1.63 million copies.
TimingBlack Biscuits
It’s a vocal trio that was formed on the variety show “Ucchan Nanchan no Urinari!” as a rival to Pocket Biscuits.
This led to Vivian Hsu’s big break.
The chorus choreography, which was easy to imitate, also became popular at the time.
Broken RadioTokunaga Hideaki
Like music flowing from a nostalgic radio, a timeless song that seeps into the heart along with memories was created by Hideaki Tokunaga in July 1990.
The track, which overlays the feelings of a boy transitioning from adolescence to adulthood with the image of a broken radio, was used as the theme song for the TBS drama “Tokai no Mori” (“Urban Forest”) and reached No.
5 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
Featuring a grand arrangement by Ichizo Seo and beautifully harmonized with Tokunaga’s delicate vocals, the song artfully blends elements of pop and ballad into a moving piece.
It was also included on the album “JUSTICE” and performed at NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 2006 and 2009.
Conveying the transience and passion of youth, as well as a yearning for self-renewal, this work gently embraces the emotional fluctuations everyone experiences while growing up—a resonant song that speaks to the heart.