A classic song celebrating Oita. The enduring spirit of our hometown [2026]

Hometown ŌnoSakushi: Kudō Emiko / Sakkyoku: Hirao Masaaki

Bungo-Ōno City Image Song “Furusato Ōno”

This song was created to gently accompany everyday life in Bungo-ōno City, Ōita Prefecture.

The lyrics were written by Emiko Kudō and the music composed by Masaaki Hirao, and every evening this gentle melody plays over the municipal disaster-prevention broadcast system.

Locals, of course, know it well, and some of you may have heard it during a visit to the city.

With the warm, nostalgic tone so characteristic of Hirao, the melody seems to paint in sound the grand nature and unhurried flow of time in Bungo-ōno.

Filled with deep affection for the region, this piece truly deserves to be called a “gift to one’s hometown”—a song that resonates in the heart.

Hell EstheticianKatte ni Kankō Kyōkai

Oita Prefecture Local Song 'Hellish Esthetician' / Unofficial Sightseeing Association

This is a playful local song about Oita Prefecture by the duo Miura Jun and Hazama Hajime, known as the Self-Styled Tourism Association.

The striking title, “Hell’s Esthetician,” is said to be inspired by Beppu Onsen’s famous ‘Hell Tour.’ The lyrics parade the names of the various ‘hells,’ delivered in an irresistibly upbeat, festival-like tune.

In between, it also slips in local specialties like Bungo beef and dango-jiru, which might surprise some listeners with the sheer density of information.

Give it a listen as a companion for your trip to Oita, and your journey might become even more enjoyable.

Port Town Love SongKawano Natsumi

Port Town Love Song

This song by Natsumi Kawano, who hails from Tsukumi City in Oita Prefecture, portrays the bittersweet heart of a woman against the backdrop of her hometown port—her original landscape.

Place names such as the Bungo Channel appear in the lyrics, painting vivid scenes in the listener’s mind.

Kawano’s clear, resonant voice is like the sea breeze blowing through the port of Tsukumi.

As you listen, you may feel her warm love for her hometown conveyed deeply through the song.

If you’re from the same area as Kawano, be sure to give it a listen.

Yufuin SentimentMitsuki Yuuji

Yuji Mitsuki, “Yufuin Ujo (Yufuin Sentiment)”

Yuuji Mitsuki, a native of Oita City, poured his deep love for his hometown into this song, “Yufuin Ujō.” With the dramatic vocals honed at the Shiki Theatre Company, he beautifully captures the gentle, refined atmosphere of this famed hot spring town.

If you listen closely to the lyrics, scenes unique to Yufuin vividly arise in your mind—Lake Kinrin veiled in morning mist, the gentle sway of the horse-drawn carriages.

Though the song tells of the sorrow of parting, a warm sense of home quietly spreads beneath it all.

This piece is like a small story that bottles up the very air of Yufuin.

Play it as a companion on your journey, and the town’s scenery may feel all the more evocative.

Bungo Minato-machiKawano Natsumi

Natsumi Kawano “Bungo Port Town”

This song portrays the poignant feelings of a woman anxiously waiting at her hometown port for someone who has set off across distant seas.

The “Bungo” in the title is the old provincial name for what is now Oita Prefecture, and the singer, Natsumi Kawano, hails from Tsukumi City, which is known as a port town.

Perhaps her deep affection for her own hometown is woven into her voice.

The foreign imagery in the lyrics—such as the Southern Cross—only serves to highlight the loneliness of the port where the heroine waits, as well as her unwavering love.

Many listeners may find themselves empathizing with the longing for someone dear who is far away.

It’s an emotionally rich piece that vividly evokes the scenery of Oita’s ports.

all alonekaguya hime

Kaguya-hime Alone 2005

This song, included on the B-side of the single “Boku wa Nani o Yattemo Dame na Otoko desu” released by the folk group Kaguyahime in 1972, is about Takenaka Station in Ōita City.

It was also included on the album “Hajimemashite.” This video features a version performed in 2005.

Kunisaki PeninsulaKitajima Saburō

Kunisaki Peninsula

This is a song set in Oita Prefecture, powerfully performed by Saburo Kitajima, a giant of the enka world.

Against the backdrop of the Kunisaki Peninsula—where the syncretic culture of Shinto and Buddhism still thrives—it passionately sings of the burning homesickness felt by those far from their hometown, and of tender yearning for a beloved mother.

The fact that Kitajima himself wrote both the lyrics and the music under his own pen name conveys his exceptional affection for the piece.

If you lend an ear to his majestic voice, you may feel the wind of Kunisaki and the scent of the sea reaching your heart.

It’s a song that will likely strike a chord with anyone who has a place to call home.