A classic, bittersweet youth song. Recommended popular tracks.
It’s nice to take some time now and then to reminisce and get a little sentimental, isn’t it?
This time, I’ve gathered Japanese songs that sing about those passionate yet fickle days of youth.
I hope that by listening to these tracks, you’ll be able to say, “The past is the past!” and move on.
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A classic, heartrending youth song. Recommended popular tracks (11–20)
Teenage BlueT-BOLAN
T-BOLAN is known for countless great ballads, but there are hidden gems among their single B-sides as well.
This track is a rock ballad that portrays the uniquely bittersweet inner landscape of adolescence, swaying between adulthood and childhood.
The inexpressible frustration and loneliness are rendered with painful realism by the fusion of Arashi Moritomo’s passionate vocals and the band’s weighty sound.
Released as the B-side to the single “JUST ILLUSION” in February 1992, the song also had an acoustic version included on an album.
On nights when you’re sunk in a sense of futility, let this song’s burning melody gently stay by your side and move your heart.
Mock youthMEGA SHINNOSUKE
This song is a perfect fit for the nostalgic mood at summer’s end.
Its refreshing guitar sound is soothing, yet carries a faint melancholy that really sinks into the heart.
What the piece portrays is the fleeting beauty and poignancy of youth—those radiant days passing by as if they were nothing more than a game of make-believe.
If you listen to it on a night when you’re reminiscing about the fun of summer and feeling a touch wistful, those shimmering days may feel all the more precious.
moonlightOnitsuka Chihiro
She composed this song when she was just 20 years old.
To have such sensibility at that age—the depth is incredible.
You could also say that the younger you are, the purer you are, and therefore the deeper the struggles.
This work, which sings of liberation from oppression, was released in 2000.
Blue BookmarkGalileo Galilei
This song was used as the opening theme for “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.” Perhaps due to the anime’s bittersweet tone, it’s strongly associated with a sense of sadness.
Even so, its gentle melody and lyrics make it a song that truly warms the heart.
The bittersweet yet warm, fluffy feeling you’re left with after listening is wonderfully comforting.
Ballad of a SingerSaitō Kazuyoshi
It’s a song that touches the tearful, tender part of the heart.
You can sense the influence of the Beatles he so admires in the chord progressions and the performance.
With that as the foundation, it builds a unique world you could call Saito Kazuyoshi’s own.
All of the Youthsuis from Yorushika
This is a song that evokes the fleeting tenderness of the last fireworks of summer fading into the night sky.
The vocalist is suis, known as the singer of Yorushika.
It’s a cover of Fuji Fabric’s classic 2007 track, produced by music producer Seiji Kameda.
Released in June 2024, it also drew attention as the theme song for the Netflix film “I Have One Year Left to Live, and I Met a Girl With Six Months Left.” The nostalgia for passing seasons and days that won’t return is delicately rendered through suis’s voice, which blends clarity with a boyish quality, and it truly hits home.
It’s a piece you’ll want to listen to intently on nights when you’re immersed in summer memories, or as the seasons change and you find yourself lost in thought.
Masterpieces of bittersweet youth songs. Recommended popular tracks (21–30)
I should be able to fly (in the sky).supittsu
A gem of a love song delivered with a breezy melody that seems to float through the air and a voice brimming with vitality.
It weaves the wavering feelings unique to youth—where anxiety and expectation mingle—into a warm sound that gently embraces the heart.
Spitz’s eighth single, released in April 1994 and included on the album “How to Fly in the Sky,” later drew major attention when it was chosen as the theme song for the 1996 drama “Hakusen Nagashi.” Tenderly sung with poetic expression, capturing pure love and aching longing, this piece deeply resonates with young people struggling with romance and continues to shine just as brightly today.
When you want to connect heart-to-heart with someone special, this song will gently give you a push.