[2026] A summer song that tightens your chest with bittersweet feelings. A classic summer tune that touches the heart.

No match for itNatsukawa Shiina

No match for it

That slightly languid vibe of “laid-back girls’ rock” makes this a number that feels just right in the summer heat.

The track is included on Shiina Natsukawa’s EP “Ep04,” released in April 2025, and there’s even a story that it had been nurtured since the production of her 3rd album, “Cable Salad.” The band sound crafted by sympathy stirs up the bittersweetness of youth.

The worldview of the lyrics resonates even more poignantly thanks to Natsukawa’s straightforward vocals, which prioritize emotion over technique.

Like the moment a sparkler fizzles out, this piece blends a sharp fleetingness with a refreshing clarity.

It’s perfect for those times when you want to sink into that sentimental mood at summer’s end.

Run Through the MemoriesMy Hair is Bad

Omoide wo Kakenukete

A song by My Hair is Bad that etches bittersweet summer memories into your heart.

While looking back on the fun days of the past, it sings of hope for the future.

Released in June 2024 as the theme song for the film “Crayon Shin-chan: Our Dinosaur Diary,” the track is included on the band’s sixth album, “ghosts.” Its energetic melody and moving lyrics beautifully capture the film’s theme of “bonds.” It’s a song that tightens your chest when you listen to it at summer’s end—highly recommended for those who want to cherish memories with friends and family.

August Is My Namekururi

Quruli – August Is My Name

This is a song released in 2022 by Quruli, a rock band from Kyoto, titled “August Is My Name.” It was chosen as the theme song for Amazon’s original drama “More Than Words.” The music video features Nana Komatsu, who is active as a model and actress.

The lyrics aren’t exactly heartbreaking, but the gentle, somehow nostalgic melody makes you feel like crying just by listening to it.

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left-right confusionYorushika

Yorushika – Left-Right Blindness (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

This is a song by Yorushika that was released digitally in 2022.

Many of you may know it as the theme song for the film Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight.

The title term “sayūmō” refers to a state where one can’t distinguish between right and left.

It perfectly captures the protagonist’s painful feelings as their memories with someone important gradually fade, as depicted in the lyrics.

It’s a track that will make anyone who’s seen the film cry, but it’s also a deeply moving, heartrending ballad that I’d recommend even to those who haven’t watched the movie.

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End of SummerShimizu Shota

Shota Shimizu “Natsunoowari” from “SHOTA SHIMIZU LIVE TOUR WHITE”

A heartwarming masterpiece by Shota Shimizu that captures the bittersweet feelings at summer’s end.

It’s included on the album ENCORE, released in March 2014.

Accompanied by a piano melody, the lyrics beautifully express memories of summer and the emotions of parting.

Depicting shining moments of youth—like summer festivals and kisses by the seaside—this song carries both the sorrow of heartbreak and the gratitude found beyond it.

Listening to it at summer’s end makes its poignancy resonate even more.

Recommended for those who have experienced a farewell with someone dear, or who want to cherish their summer memories.

SUMMER ENDiri

SUMMER END

While rooted in alternative R&B and hip-hop, iri weaves in diverse elements like jazz and soul.

Her husky voice beautifully captures those fleeting moments of melancholy that lurk behind summer’s bustle.

A track released in September 2019 is a perfect companion to the wistfulness of summer slipping away.

The sound she crafted with TAAR and Natsuhiko Muraoka seems to dissolve the fragility of late summer and the frustration of unfulfilled love into a smooth, irresistible groove.

Serving as the theme song for AbemaTV’s romance reality show “Koi no Dorama na Koi ga Shitai ~Kiss to survive~,” it captured many viewers’ hearts when the series began airing that August.

Put it on during a night when fond summer memories suddenly resurface, and it will gently wrap you in a sentimental mood.

Shadows of Summerkinoko teikoku

Natsuno Kage

It’s a track that seeps into the heart with a languid, melancholic mood, like drifting through a summer dusk.

Released by Kinoko Teikoku in August 2016, the song weaves in reggae and dub rhythms while blending the band’s signature weightless feel with a tender poignancy.

It evokes the unspoken feelings between a man and a woman swaying in the shifting light and shadow of a fading summer, rendering in its nostalgic melody the emotions that can’t quite be voiced—tightening the listener’s chest.

The song was later included on the album “Ai no Yukue” (The Whereabouts of Love), whose title track is also known as the theme song for the film “Her Love Boils Bathwater.” It’s perfect for those solitary moments at summer’s end when you want to quietly look back on days gone by, or for nights when you want to sink into a sentimental mood.