[Local Songs] Recommended tracks packed with Japan’s nationwide classics and hometown pride
Across Japan, there are many “local songs” created around themes like regional climate and traditions, long-standing customs, hometown pride, and specialty foods.
However, few people are likely familiar with songs from places far from their own living area or hometown.
Some might even have spent years in a region without knowing its local songs at all.
In this article, we’ll introduce some highly impactful, must-hear local songs from across Japan that we hope many of you will get to know.
If it’s a place you’ve visited, try listening while picturing the local scenery.
If it’s somewhere you’ve never been, let the song help you imagine the land and the lives of the people who live there.
- A roundup of regional enka songs: classic hits that feature places from all across Japan in their lyrics.
- [Song of Osaka] A selection of passionate, warm-hearted Osaka tunes
- [2026] Masterpieces that sing of Hokkaido: the heart of a beloved homeland passed down in song
- Introducing famous songs about Shizuoka: Local anthems and popular tracks [2026]
- [Songs of Saitama] A Wealth of Humor-Filled Classics! Local Anthems Packed with Love for Saitama
- Songs related to Mie Prefecture. Beloved local tunes of Mie that continue to be cherished.
- [Hometown Songs] A curated selection of popular Japanese tracks that fill your heart with nostalgia
- [Kyoto Songs] Masterpieces that sing about Kyoto — songs themed on the ancient capital. The enduring heart of our hometown passed down in song.
- A famous song about Fukuoka. The heart of the hometown passed down through song.
- A classic song that celebrates Niigata. The enduring spirit of our hometown passed down through song.
- Songs about Tokyo: A collection of popular J‑Pop classics [2026]
- Masterpieces that sing of love. Recommended popular songs.
- [Songs of Kagoshima] The heart of our hometown carried on in song | A curated selection of classic tracks that embody Kagoshima
[Local Songs] Must-Listen Tracks Filled with Hometown Love from All Over Japan (21–30)
I love Mie Prefecture.Agorophius
Who knew a band could celebrate hometown pride with such gleeful flair? Hailing from Mie, Agorophius is a three-piece that blends rock with nerdy humor.
This release barrels through everything from flavor memories of tenmusu, Tsu gyoza, and Akafuku to classic last-train and bus mishaps, becoming a call-and-response anthem that sweeps the crowd up in pride and laughter.
It premiered at their self-hosted circuit in August 2019 and hit stores in October the same year.
Clocking in at 4:39 across three tracks, it stands alongside “Gyaru Suko” and “Ecchi Stove Ignition w,” reinforcing the lineage of the albums The Best Ago and Final Otaku Quest as a live staple.
Perfect for anyone who wants to belt it out with friends on the road to Ise or Kumano, or for those who want to recall Mie’s scenery and recharge their spirits.
Saga Prefecture — SAGA, Then and Nowhanawa
This is Hanawa’s sequel song, written fifteen years after his 2003 smash hit, expressing a renewed affection for his hometown.
The self-deprecating humor of the past has matured into warm, affectionate wit, painting a gentle gaze toward today’s Saga.
With chuckle-worthy lyrics and a soothing bassline, the track gently warms the listener’s heart.
Included on the October 2018 album “Karaage,” it’s a song that will surely bring to mind familiar scenes and memories for anyone living away from home.
Please give it a listen while thinking of your own hometown.
[Local Songs] Must-listen tracks filled with hometown pride from across Japan (31–40)
Nihondaira Calling YouKoromubia Rōzu
When it comes to local songs celebrating Nihondaira, the beautiful scenic spot in Shizuoka, this is the one! It was released in 1961 by the first Columbia Rose, who took the country by storm as a masked singer.
Set to a bright, lighthearted waltz, the song portrays a tour-bus worker who pours herself into her job with hope in her heart and develops a faint crush on the people she meets along the way.
The first Columbia Rose’s clear and charming voice perfectly matches the protagonist’s earnest feelings.
You can almost see the tea fields spreading below and the glitter of Suruga Bay, and the song wraps you in a rising excitement that swells with the promise of a journey.
Miyazaki BluesŌtsuki Miyako
This is a local song set in Miyazaki, released in 1973 by Miyako Otsuki, who hails from Osaka and debuted in her teens.
The lyrics convey an inexhaustible longing for her hometown of Miyazaki, along with the loneliness felt on the road and a helpless yearning for love.
Otsuki’s emotionally rich, storytelling voice deeply resonates with listeners.
If you lend an ear to this song, you can almost picture a slightly melancholic Miyazaki nightscape—so different from the sunny, tropical face it’s known for.
It’s a piece that stirs the spirit of travel, don’t you think?
Star SandKoyanagi Rumiko
This song was reportedly turned into a record after Rumiko liked a version sung by someone else on a show where celebrities write and compose music.
Because she’s so attached to it, I think she sings it dramatically and with great care.
It conjures up the blue sea of Ishigaki Island.
I want to walk on the sand and touch the legends.
Scarred KaruizawaBureddo & Batā
This early masterpiece, released to the world in September 1969 as a debut single, is a song about a summer romance at a resort.
Its lyrics depict moments in Karuizawa with a woman in a black lace gown, beautifully expressing the bittersweetness of a sweet love in a heavenly place that eventually becomes wounded like fallen leaves.
With poetic lyrics seamlessly fused with a refined melody, the piece is praised as a pioneering work that bridged folk and pop.
It’s a perfect song for those who like to picture the scenery of Karuizawa or nostalgically look back on a past romance.
Cape TappiMizumori Kaori
This is a celebrated song by Kaori Mizumori that overlays the poignant emotions of a heartbroken woman onto the desolate natural scenery of Aomori.
Released as a single in October 1999, it was also included on the album “Kaori Mizumori Complete Collection ~Tappi Misaki~.” Set at the northernmost tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula, the piece powerfully conveys the sorrow of a protagonist traveling alone while carrying feelings for someone she cannot forget.
Give it a listen when you want to immerse yourself in the travel atmosphere of Japan’s northern regions and the lyrical storytelling unique to enka.