[Summer Classics] When it comes to summer, it’s got to be this song! A roundup from timeless staples to the latest hit tracks.

Summer Love Sensationmakaroni enpitsu

macaroni empitsu “Summer Love Sensation” MV

It’s a Macaroni Enpitsu number that sparkles like a summer festival and stirs up memories of a tender first love! With scenes of yukata and fireworks, it captures the sweet-and-sour beginning and end of a romance in a catchy melody that really amps up the excitement of summer.

Released in August 2017 as their first CD single, the track is also included on their album CHOSYOKU from the same year.

Why not give it a listen on your way to a festival or when you want to savor the lingering afterglow of summer?

Sparklers feat. Lila IkutaSato Chiaki

Chiaki Sato – Sparkler (Senko Hanabi) feat. Rira Ikuta (Music Video)

This is a song that brings back that special summertime-night exhilaration.

Released ahead of the June 2023 album “BUTTERFLY EFFECT,” it’s a poppy dance tune with a comfortably infectious rhythm.

The vocals by Chiahi Sato and Lila Ikuta hint at the beginning of a faint love story.

Words like “festival” and “ice cream that won’t melt” are brimming with summer sparkle, while the bittersweet wish for a night that you never want to end resonates in your heart.

Give it a listen when you want to feel the flutter of romance and the tenderness for a summer that’s slipping away!

End of SummerShimizu Shota

Shota Shimizu “Natsunoowari” from SHOTA SHIMIZU LIVE TOUR 2023 “Insomnia” supported by Taica

As the end of summer draws near, you get that distinctive, aching tightness in your chest, don’t you? In those moments, Shota Shimizu’s timeless ballads gently stay by your side.

They make you feel the memories of a summer romance spreading through your heart like the gradations of a sunset.

The unspoken loneliness the protagonist must be feeling, and the tenderness for days that won’t return, come through vividly in his emotive vocals.

This song is lovingly included on his March 2014 album ENCORE, and is cherished among fans as a hidden gem.

It’s perfect for the threshold of autumn, when the lively season bids farewell and a touch of sentimentality sets in, or for a quiet night spent alone, lost in memories.

If you savor each lyric as you listen, you’ll be drawn even deeper into its world—no question about it.

Please enjoy it that way!

Midsummer FruitSazan Ōrusutāzu

Southern All Stars / Manatsu no Kajitsu (Midsummer Fruit) with lyrics

Since its release in 1990, this love ballad by Southern All Stars has been covered by many musicians and cherished ever since.

Also serving as the theme song for Keisuke Kuwata’s film “Inamura Jane,” the track is filled with the beauty and bittersweetness of summer love, giving you that tight, aching feeling in your chest when you listen.

The intensity of a passionate romance—and the pain when it ends—feels enveloped and purified by the beautiful melody and sound, making it an evergreen summer song that never fades with time.

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Mahoro in SummerHarukamirai

Harukamirai – Summer Mahoro (Official Music Video)

This is a heart-thumping track by Harukamirai that vividly captures the blazing summer sun and the days of youth gone by.

The song leaves a strong impression with its protagonist looking back, amid the encroaching heat, on the self who once acted tough and the past when they couldn’t be a little more honest.

Alongside motifs like sunflowers and white baseballs, the nostalgia for those burning days and the resolve to step into the future ride on an energetic rock sound that’s sure to move listeners.

The track is included on the album “THE BAND STAR,” released in July 2020, and was also selected as a J-pop recommendation on MUSIC ON! TV that same month.

It’s perfect for summer drives or outings with friends, and if you want to rekindle that fiery feeling from back then, be sure to give it a listen!

Lamp starharuka nakamura + suis from Yorushika

[MV] Akari-boshi (Lamp Star) / haruka nakamura + suis from Yorushika

You’re drawn into its delicate, lyrical sound.

It’s a collaboration between composer haruka nakamura and suis, the vocalist of Yorushika.

The song was written as the theme for the film “Kono Natsu no Hoshi o Miru,” set to be released in July 2025.

suis’s crystalline voice gently accompanies the quiet, beautiful piano melodies woven by haruka nakamura, creating an immersive feeling as if you were inside a planetarium.

The story—tinged with the ache of an irretrievable past and the discovery of a small light of hope in the darkness—perfectly matches the film’s worldview.

Listen, and you’ll find yourself forgetting the daily bustle and quietly looking up at the night sky.

Ocean living roomSuzuki Suzuki

Sea Living – Suzuki Suzuki [Official Music Video]

With the uniquely beautiful harmonies only siblings can create, Suzuki Suzuki deliver a perfect song to color the summer of the Reiwa era.

Its fresh, up-tempo melody lifts the listener’s spirits and whisks you away to glittering summertime scenes.

Upon its release in August 2021, the track became a hit, inspiring over 110,000 related videos on TikTok, and it topped the Billboard JAPAN charts for two consecutive weeks in September of the same year.

It’s also included on the album “313.” Ideal for a seaside drive or lively moments with friends, this is a song that’s sure to boost your mood.