Songs to listen to in autumn: Ranking of popular Japanese bands [2026]
Since it’s the season of autumn music, how about lending an ear this year to artists you don’t usually listen to?
We’ve selected songs from Japanese bands that are perfect for fall, so you’re sure to find one or two that strike a chord.
Let’s make it a season full of diverse interests!
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Songs to Listen to in Autumn: Popular Japanese Band Rankings [2026] (91–100)
Loverssumika91rank/position
A love song that portrays a mutual romance, where warmth and wistfulness coexist.
Packed with sumika’s musical essence, this piece expresses affection and trust toward the other person.
The lyrics carry the wish to “be smiling in the end,” offering comfort to listeners.
Released in May 2016, the song is also said to celebrate the band’s return to activity.
It’s recommended for an autumn evening stroll with someone special.
sumika’s gentle vocals and heartfelt lyrics are sure to encourage two people in love.
mutual feelingsthe shes gone92rank/position
This song, which captures the ache of unrequited love, is one of the signature tracks by the shes gone.
It portrays lingering feelings for a former lover and how a single word from them can change everyday life, offering comfort to anyone who has experienced heartbreak.
Released in January 2019, its music video on YouTube helped raise the band’s profile.
It’s a recommended track for those carrying the pain of a breakup or harboring deep feelings for someone special.
You’re sure to find something to relate to in the lyrics, sung over a gently flowing melody.
YELLikimonogakari93rank/position
In the clear autumn air, you find yourself wanting to listen to a melody that’s somehow wistful yet powerful.
This classic ballad by Ikimono-gakari is a perfect match for that sentimental mood.
Released as a single in September 2009, the song is also known for being selected as the set piece for the NHK National School Music Competition’s junior high division.
Although it’s now established as a graduation song, reading the lyrics reveals that it’s actually set in autumn.
It seems to tell us that parting is not an end, but the beginning of a new future.
Even while holding onto anxieties, moving forward with the bond of friends in your heart brings a warm courage to those reflective autumn nights.
It’s because I listened to Bach’s melody at night.Sakanakushon94rank/position
Sakanaction is a rock band that delivers a unique sound blending alternative rock and electronica.
In 2011, they released this track, “It’s Because I Listened to Bach’s Melodies at Night.” Inspired by the music of Bach—often called the “father of music”—the song depicts a figure overcome with melancholy under the moonlit sky.
The electronic vocals riding a four-on-the-floor beat and the surging bass will make your body move.
Set to a danceable sound, the lyrics portray a delicate heart in motion.
Give it a listen as dance music to enliven those long autumn nights.
single bedSha ran Q95rank/position
It’s one of the signature songs by the rock band Sharam Q.
It has become a classic, bittersweet breakup song.
When you want to quietly enjoy music alone on a long autumn night, or when you feel like sinking into a wistful mood, why not give this track a listen?
Nagisasupittsu96rank/position
When the summer heat subsides and a hint of autumn rides on the breeze, it makes you feel a bit sentimental, doesn’t it? Gentle and resonant against that late-summer melancholy is a number by Spitz.
Contrary to its sparkling, refreshing sound, it depicts a profoundly layered world where reality and fantasy intertwine.
The ache of clutching warped memories and yearning for someone you can only meet in a mirage overlaps with the loneliness of the passing season, sinking deep into your heart.
Released in September 1996, this song is also included on the album “Indigo Chiheisen.” It became well-loved as the CM song for Ezaki Glico’s “Pocky Love Story.” It’s a track you’ll want to savor alone, lost in your summer memories.
Japanese rice is the best in the world.Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai97rank/position
With their uniquely unparalleled position, Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai deliver what is undeniably Japan’s number-one rice song.
The heavy sound pairs with lyrics that are refreshingly original—once you hear it, no one can complain.
It’s a track that really fires up the crowd live, so be sure to learn the response cues and go absolutely wild.
Feel with your ears how Japan’s natural character spreads across your palate.
Mela!Ryokushokushakai98rank/position
This song powerfully portrays the protagonist’s determination to carve out a new path while staying true to themselves.
Even as they face challenges, their courage to help others and their desire to become a hero come through vividly alongside energetic music.
Included on Ryokuoushoku Shakai’s album “SINGALONG,” released in June 2020, the track stands out for its strong melody and an upbeat style that blends pop and rock.
It was featured in the commercial song for Dariya’s “Palty Coloring,” and was also used in a JRA (Japan Racing Association) commercial in 2025.
It’s a song that gives junior high school students stepping into new environments the courage to believe in their potential and the energy to look ahead.
more than wordsHitsuji Bungaku99rank/position
Hitsujibungaku captivates with their unique sound that blends inorganic coolness and warmth, along with poetic, delicate word choices.
Released in September 2023, this track was selected as the ending theme for Season 2 of the TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen, the Shibuya Incident arc, and has surpassed 100 million streams.
Incorporating a four-on-the-floor beat and programmed sounds for the first time, the piece is an ambitious work produced by Moeka Shiotsuka after a year of studying DTM (desktop music production).
The lyrics, which reflect on how to convey feelings that words alone can’t express and on how to navigate one’s own life, really resonate.
The transparent vocals meld into the expansive soundscape, making it a song you’ll want to savor on a quiet night.
When it shinesHitsuji Bungaku100rank/position
The shimmering, resounding guitar sound touches the heart.
It’s a song by the three-piece rock band Hitsujibungaku, released in 2022 as their seventh single.
It was chosen as the opening theme for the anime The Heike Story, produced by Science SARU.
The shoegaze-infused sonic approach is irresistible, giving you the sensation of being enveloped by sound.
The lyrics, filled with a resolve to “live,” are moving—an anime song that gives you the strength to face tomorrow.
