Songs that hit home when you're feeling blue: masterpieces of Japanese music
“I feel a vague sense of anxiety and can’t find any energy.” “I’m struggling with my relationships.” Don’t you have times when you feel so down that you don’t know what to do?
All you want is to live immersed in simple happiness… but it’s so hard.
At times like that, rather than forcing yourself to grit your teeth and endure, it might actually be easier to stop pushing and let yourself cry it all out.
Here, I’ve put together a selection of classic Japanese songs that will stay close to your heart when you’re feeling unbearably blue.
I hope this article can be of help to you.
- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- [Yami Song] A mental breakdown track that sings the true feelings of a melancholic heart
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [For High School Students] Melancholy Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough Times]
- Masterpieces that sing of despair. Recommended popular songs.
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- [When You're Lonely] A Collection of Songs That Resonate With Those All Alone
- [Songs of Worries] Listening will gently lighten your heart. Masterpieces that speak for your feelings
- A masterpiece that sings of loneliness. Recommended popular songs.
- Masterpieces that sing about loneliness: J-pop to listen to when you're alone
- [Cheering Songs] Japanese tracks to listen to when you’re troubled, lost, or feeling anxious
Piercing songs to listen to when you're feeling melancholic: Masterpieces of Japanese music (31–40)
AnswerIkuta Rira
A warm cheering song that gives you the strength to look forward during tough times.
It’s a track by Lila Ikuta, released digitally in March 2021 and later included on her 2023 album “Sketch.” It was featured in a Tokio Marine Nichido Anshin Life commercial.
The song delicately portrays the feelings of trying to move ahead while carrying weakness and loneliness, offering comfort to the doubts and anxieties everyone experiences.
It’s a song I’d like people who are living through days without clear answers, or who are struggling with choices or relationships, to listen to.
pickled plumsupittsu
They’re a skilled male band that has kept producing hits since the ’90s music scene.
The vocalist is Masamune Kusano.
It’s a relatively older song, but its downbeat tone is striking.
If you delve into the lyrics, you might even feel an indescribable sense of melancholy.
LonelinessMrs. GREEN APPLE
This track, included on the album ANTENNA released in July 2023, squarely asks how we confront loneliness.
It portrays the protagonist’s introspection as they try to take a step forward despite their weakness and sense of stagnation, with lyrics that are striking for the heartbeat that emerges not by rejecting loneliness, but by accepting it.
In live performances, it’s unveiled amid a spectacle of pillars of flame in the darkness, and despite being an album track, it instantly raises the venue’s energy with its commanding presence.
The sound—where dark emotionality coexists with the driving force of dance music—is truly one of a kind.
It’s a song that quietly stays by your side on nights when you want to face yourself or when you want to confirm the feelings deep in your heart.
Surely this life had no meaning.Kitanitatsuya
This is a song by Tatsuya Kitani that portrays thoughts about how small one is and the suffering of a miserable way of life.
The intensely strummed sound of various instruments conveys a restless mind and unstable emotions directly.
The vocals also seem to emphasize a rough, raw image, giving the impression of unadorned outpourings of pain.
The lyrics, which convey the struggle of living on while suffering in a world without salvation, may resonate with and support you when you’re feeling down.
AkariMy Hair is Bad
It’s a heartwarming song that portrays the feeling of trying to move forward despite everyday fatigue and inner conflicts.
It’s one of the tracks on My Hair is Bad’s album “ghosts,” released in July 2024, a noteworthy work that also includes the theme song for the film “Crayon Shin-chan: Our Dinosaur Diary.” With an alternative rock sound and a husky vocal timbre, it expresses the fragility and anxiety deep within the heart, along with the strong will to keep going anyway.
It’s a song you’ll want to listen to when you feel worn out by work or relationships, or when you’re on the verge of breaking.
It will surely stay close to your heart and give you strength for tomorrow.
Songs that hit hard when you're feeling blue: Classic J‑Pop gems (41–50)
Omelet riceReoNa
It’s sure to resonate with anyone who couldn’t go to school.
Released digitally by ReoNa in May 2024, this track features lyrics and composition by Vocaloid producer Toa Kasamura and arrangement by Ryohei Arahata.
The lyrics, which begin with a question, symbolically portray the protagonist’s loneliness and sense of self-negation through the imagery of a lunchbox scene.
A wistful melody seeps into the heart.
It’s a song that gently reaches out a hand to those who, even while carrying pain, still wish to face forward.
in my placeHiguchi Ai
A song that embraces the parts of yourself that feel incapable and lights the courage to keep moving forward.
It’s the second installment of Ai Higuchi’s “Soliloquy Trilogy,” released digitally in August 2025.
The expansive sound and gentle vocals are a perfect match.
The lyrics depict the feelings of repeatedly grappling with self-loathing while taking one step at a time.
Try listening on a quiet night or on a heavy-footed morning on your way to class.
It will bring your heart’s pace back to your own stride.