Autumn Classics: Carefully Selected Exquisite Ballads to Listen to in September

Late Summer (A Season for One)Arai Yumi

Late Summer 2021 Yumi Arai

This is a song by Yumi Arai that overlays the changing seasonal scenery with the end of a romance and the beginning of time alone.

The sight of leaves blazing with color and delicate flowers swaying in the wind seems to reflect the protagonist’s loneliness.

The song was included on the album “The 14th Moon,” released under the name Yumi Arai in November 1976, and it also served as the theme song for the NHK dramas “Natsu no Furusato” and “Maboroshi no Budōen.” Its poignant melody—mingling a lingering affection for the summer that has passed with a quiet resolve for the seasons to come—resonates deeply with listeners.

Whether you play it on a drive while reminiscing about summer or during a slightly chilly evening stroll, it will gently keep you company.

Love Sky and the Sound of RainAAA

AAA / “Love Sound and Rainy Sky” Music Video

When it comes to love songs for autumn, those slightly melancholic, bittersweet tunes are the classics, aren’t they? This piece is a gem of a love song packed with the frustrating push-and-pull of romance and those hard-to-express feelings.

You want to say “I love you,” but the fear of what might come keeps the words in your throat.

That delicate feeling of first love overlaps with the gentle scene of autumn rain, and it really tugs at the heart.

This track is a single released by AAA in September 2013 and was also featured in an H.I.S.

commercial, so many of you may find it familiar.

The album it’s included on, Eighth Wonder, became the group’s first to top the weekly charts and won an Excellence Award at the 55th Japan Record Awards.

It’s a song that quietly stays by your side in autumn, when the fun of summer has passed and you start to long for someone.

horizonback number

back number – Horizon

A gem of a ballad delivered by back number, a band that captures listeners’ hearts with poignant lyrics.

Beginning with a gentle piano melody, this song weaves a story about the pain of dreams and hopes suddenly collapsing, and the will to look forward and begin anew.

Many will find their own experiences reflected in the raw, urgent feelings—like a cry for one’s existence—born from unnoticed loneliness.

Created for high school students whose Inter-High was canceled, the song was released on YouTube in August 2020.

It’s a classic that quietly stays by your side when summer fun has passed and a faint loneliness sets in.

Liar MoonYorushika

Liar

This ballad by Yorushika is perfect for autumn, when the hustle and bustle of summer settles down and a certain loneliness sets in.

Delicate piano melodies intertwine with vocalist suis’s clear, translucent voice, seeping deeply into the listener’s heart.

It portrays the loneliness of a protagonist who continues to wait, even as memories of a loved one fade away.

That feeling overlaps with the bittersweetness of summer coming to an end, making it all the more moving.

This beautiful song was produced as the ending theme for the anime film A Whisker Away, released in June 2020, further deepening the story’s emotional afterglow.

On those long autumn nights when you want to reflect on seasons past, it’s a piece to savor alone, slowly and fully.

moon bathingYorushika

Yorushika – Moonlight Bath (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

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.

MissingKubota Toshinobu

Toshinobu Kubota – Missing [Official Video]

This is a gem of a ballad by Toshinobu Kubota, known for his uniquely groovy style, perfect for an autumn night.

It poignantly conveys, with a soulful voice, the helpless love between a man and a woman who care deeply for each other yet can never be together.

The struggle of wanting to forget but being unable to, and the regret of wishing they had met earlier, really hits home.

The song was included on his debut album, “SHAKE IT PARADISE,” released in September 1986, and was used as an ending theme for shows like World Pro Wrestling.

Though it wasn’t released as a single, it remains one of his most beloved signature songs.

It feels like a gentle companion to the quiet loneliness that follows the bustle of summer.

Ballad of a SingerSaitō Kazuyoshi

Kazuyoshi Saito – Ballad of a Singer (2008 Ver.) [Music Video]

A signature song by Kazuyoshi Saito, beloved for years and covered by many artists.

The lyrics portray the story of a singer who can only convey his true feelings through song—beautiful and piercing straight to the heart.

The earnest desire to express simple, straightforward words of love—ones too embarrassing to say in everyday life—resonates deeply when carried by the music.

Released as a single in November 1997, the song was also chosen as the theme for the 2017 animated film Lu Over the Wall.

The acoustic guitar tones and unadorned vocals are both aching and warm.

That indescribable feeling that seeps into your chest seems perfect for the autumn air after the bustle of summer has faded.

It’s a gem of a ballad you’ll want to savor while thinking of someone dear.