[Song for a Departure] A send-off song for you. A classic masterpiece among departure songs.
Starting a new chapter—whether it’s pursuing further education, changing jobs, or chasing your dreams in a new place—there are many kinds of departures in life.
Leaving the familiar and stepping into a new environment is never easy, and you may face many tough moments along the way.
Here, we’ll introduce uplifting songs to cheer you on—songs for setting out, graduation songs that give you the courage to keep going in a new place.
We’ve carefully selected powerful anthems that will push you forward as you take your next step, and that are also perfect for sending to the dear friends and companions who are about to embark on their own journeys.
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[Song of Departure] A farewell song I dedicate to you. Classic departure songs (21–30)
Endless JourneyMr.Children
It’s a song with a calm atmosphere yet a powerful sense of steady, step-by-step progress.
Because it was released as the single marking Mr.Children’s return to activity, many people may associate it with a fresh start.
While gently accompanying the kind of painful emotions everyone experiences in life, it calls out to us with the message that a bright future awaits beyond them.
It feels like a warm anthem of encouragement that inspires you to summon your courage and take on something new.
JourneyFuji Kaze
Fujii Kaze’s “Tabiji” is a song that lets you set off wrapped in warm memories.
Chosen as the theme song for the drama “Nijiiro Karte,” starring Mitsuki Takahata, it brought gentle tears alongside the show.
As we continue along our long lives ahead, we’ll go through so many joyful and painful experiences, and once they pass, they all become memories…
That’s how we move through life.
But no matter when, the many days that have turned into memories will protect us.
It’s a song that carries that feeling.
It’s also perfect as background music for the day you set out on a new path!
Kitearashi
A grand message song by Arashi that you’ll want to give to friends setting off on a new chapter.
Like a kite catching the wind and soaring high, it portrays the resolve to move forward despite uncertainty.
There’s a warmth in this song that gently watches over that figure and gives a soft push from behind.
The single “Kite,” released in 2020, was written and composed by Kenshi Yonezu as the “NHK 2020 Song.” It was also aired on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” making it beloved across generations.
Parting with friends is lonely, but the sentiment embedded in this work—“we’re connected no matter where we are”—will surely reach their hearts.
If everyone sings it together at a farewell party, it becomes the perfect cheer, powerfully supporting the future of the one setting out.
YELLikimonogakari
This is Ikimono-gakari’s 15th single, released in 2009.
The song was created as the set piece for the Junior High School Division of the NHK National School Music Competition.
Rather than simply mourning farewells with friends or feeling lonely, the lyrics portray the process of overcoming those feelings, growing, and moving forward toward the future.
Far, far awayMakihara Noriyuki
Noriyuki Makihara’s “Tōku Tōku” is filled with the desire to show friends and family back in one’s distant hometown that you’re doing your best.
Although it’s an album track included on “Kimi wa Boku no Takaramono,” it has gained popularity and has been covered by various artists, including May J.
and 175R.
Makihara himself is said to have written the song while thinking of his friends in his hometown.
Many people end up far from home to pursue their dreams or start a job.
There may be times when you want to go back, but since you’ve decided to make it here, you want everyone back home to see you working hard right where you are.
It’s a song imbued with that feeling—one that supports you as you strive to make your dreams come true.
HOMEShimizu Shota
Released in 2007, this is Shota Shimizu’s debut single.
He’s highly regarded as a young R&B singer, and I still remember how surprised I was at the time to hear a vocalist with such a clear, translucent voice.
The song portrays the struggles after setting out on a journey, and its lyrics—filled with the resolve to “stay strong-willed” and the promise that “once I’m recognized, I’ll come home properly”—are deeply moving.
It truly feels like an anthem of encouragement to oneself.
YELL ~Yell~Kobukuro
This is a Kobukuro song that affirms the experiences you’ve accumulated so far and gives you the courage to move forward into the future.
With a gentle sound centered on acoustic guitar, the strumming at the beginning evokes the image of taking steady steps ahead.
While empathizing with the anxiety anyone might feel when heading into a new place, it conveys the message that taking the first step leads to a brighter future.
It’s a song that seems to give you the strength to overcome hardships—strength that’s essential for carving out your future.