For When You Want to Get Sentimental: Classic Japanese Songs Overflowing with a Melancholic Atmosphere
There are times when you suddenly find yourself feeling sentimental, aren’t there?
Cheering yourself up is one way to go, but it might also be nice to just let yourself be as you are in those moments.
In this article, we’ve picked out songs you can sink into on a sentimental day.
Letting yourself go with the flow and listening to classics like these can be surprisingly soothing.
These tracks aren’t just for autumn nights—you can enjoy them in all sorts of seasons and situations.
Hopefully you’ll find a song that fits your sentimental mood.
- Emotional songs that resonate in a sentimental autumn. A collection of autumn tunes.
- A nostalgic song—a timeless classic that somehow feels familiar and touches the heart.
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[For When You Want to Get Sentimental] Classic Japanese Songs Overflowing with Melancholic Atmosphere (31–40)
I want to be loved.Oku Hanako
A song that tenderly embraces the earnest wish to be loved.
Created by singer-songwriter Okuhanako, it appears on the album “vol.best,” released in April 2005 during her indie days.
The piece gives voice, over a quiet piano melody, to a piercing question: can we keep living by clinging to the memories of being loved, even when we feel hollowed out by loneliness? Her voice—praised as one that can move you to tears on sound alone—seems to gently scoop up feelings that words can’t express.
The song distills the power of her music, which speaks straight to the heart—this is the artist who once sold 488 CDs in a single day at a street performance.
On nights when you long to be loved deeply by someone, listening alone in silence may kindle a warm light in your heart.
PretenderOfisharu Higedan Dism
I can’t stop crying at this heartbreaking story of someone stepping back on their own.
This is the song that truly made Official HIGE DANDism a nationwide name.
It’s easy to be captivated by Satoshi Fujihara’s beautiful vocals, but the real charm lies in the lyrics that portray the protagonist’s emotions.
Realizing he won’t end up with the one he loves, the song conveys the feelings of a man who chooses to bow out.
He can no longer say “I love you”; all he can do is praise the other person’s beauty.
The world it paints—where dignity and lingering attachment intersect—tightens your chest, doesn’t it? Released as a single in May 2019, it became a massive hit as the theme song for the film The Confidence Man JP, spending 34 consecutive weeks at No.
1 on Billboard Japan’s streaming chart.
On nights when you’re tormented by unrequited love, it’s sure to gently stay by your side.
Maplesupittsu
It’s one of Spitz’s signature ballads and an absolutely indispensable song when introducing bittersweet tracks.
The song was originally included on the March 1998 album “Fake Fur,” and was later released as a single.
It has been used as an insert song across eras, in dramas like “Over Time” and “silent,” so I think many people have heard it.
The lyrics convey a heartfelt resolve to keep moving forward while holding tight to memories of a beloved person one can no longer meet, and it really squeezes your heart.
Masamune Kusano’s soft, clear vocals and the band’s warm performance seem to gently permeate a sorrowful heart, while at the same time accentuating the loneliness embedded in the lyrics.
Memory LaneCIMBA
This is a masterpiece by Simba, a rising star in Japanese R&B.
While it carries a bright mood, its sentimental lyrics, which recall important memories and make you reflect on the present moment, resonate deeply in the heart.
Crescent Moon SunsetSakanakushon
Sakanaction masterfully fuse electronic music with a band sound, captivating listeners with their unique musical world.
This track, included on their debut album GO TO THE FUTURE released in May 2007, is a number that symbolizes the early days of the band’s career.
Evoking a scene where the sun sets and a slender moon peeks into the sky, the song conveys the frustration felt within the repetition of everyday life, as well as a quiet resolve to change something.
Upon its release, it garnered major attention in their home of Hokkaido, reaching No.
2 on the Sapporo Hot 100 chart, and it was also selected as the ending theme for MBS’s MM-TV.
It’s a stylish track that gently accompanies reflective autumn nights.
[For When You Want to Get Sentimental] Classic Japanese Songs Overflowing with Melancholy (41–50)
moon bathingYorushika
As the clamor of summer recedes and quiet nights grow more comforting, there’s a dreamlike song by Yorushika I want you to hear.
Their music is known for its literary worldview, and this piece is a beautiful ballad through and through, layering the feeling of cherishing what matters as time slips by over scenes bathed in moonlight.
Suis’s clear yet powerful vocals deepen the bittersweet, grand atmosphere even further.
Released in October 2023, the song also served as the theme for the feature anime Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: Star Sage, so many listeners may have immersed themselves in that world as well.
When you’re reminiscing about a joyful summer and feeling a touch lonely, this song will surely stay gently by your side.
Gray and Blue (+Masaki Suda)Yonezu Kenshi
This is a song by Kenshi Yonezu that drew huge attention through a collaboration with Masaki Suda, who also radiates overwhelming presence as an actor.
The track is included on Yonezu’s fourth album, “BOOTLEG,” released in November 2017.
Looking back on the bygone days of youth, this slightly sentimental piece is perfect for long autumn nights when the clamor of summer has subsided.
It depicts a yearning for those radiant “blue” days and the struggle of living in a “gray” reality, with the poignant feeling of missing an old friend you can no longer see conveyed through their two voices.
It’s a heart-tugging song that, when you listen to it as you recall happier times and feel a bit lonely, seems to awaken emotions tucked away deep in your heart.