![[Station Jingles] A compilation of approach melodies and departure melodies from around Japan](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/qop2vdDaqVE/maxresdefault.webp)
Music you casually hear at the station you usually use.
If you listen closely, sometimes it’s recent J-pop, and other times it’s nostalgic children’s songs—you’ve noticed that, right?
In this article, we’ve put together station melodies from all over Japan.
You might even stumble upon a tune that makes you think, “Why this song?”
But if you look into it, you’ll find there’s a proper reason that particular piece was chosen.
Including that sense of story, please listen and enjoy!
Welcome to the deep, deep world of railway sound enthusiasts!
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[Station Jingles] Nationwide Compilation of Approach and Departure Melodies (1–10)
Blue Light Yokohamaishida ayumi
This is the 26th single by female singer Ayumi Ishida, who is the older sister of Olympic figure skating representative Haruko Ishida and the younger sister of singer Yuri Ishida.
Known as one of Ayumi Ishida’s signature songs, it has sold over 1.5 million copies, making it a million seller.
As its title suggests, it is also famous as a local song of Yokohama, and it proudly took first place in a 2009 survey by the City of Yokohama on local songs.
Since 2008, it has been used as the approach melody at Keikyū Main Line’s Yokohama Station, welcoming many users as a musical face of the charming city of Yokohama.
doorGReeeeN
Despite their unprecedented style of balancing dual careers as artists and dentists, the four-member vocal group GReeeeN has secured unwavering popularity with numerous hit songs.
This is their eighth single in total.
The track marked their first single release since the smash hit “Kiseki,” and it was widely featured on news programs and in commercials.
Since 2015, it has been used as the departure melody on the conventional train platforms at Koriyama Station in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture—the members’ hometown—letting visitors know it is the place where GReeeeN was born and raised.
Tracks of HopeSazan Ōrusutāzu
A song by the rock band Southern All Stars—affectionately known as “Southern”—who burst onto the J-pop scene with their debut single Katteni Sindbad and have since released numerous classics known to everyone.
The track appears on the soundtrack of the film Inamura Jane, and, strictly speaking, the artist credit for the song is “Inamura Orchestra.” Did you know that none of the Southern members besides vocalist Keisuke Kuwata actually participated? Since 2000, the song has been used as the departure melody at JR Chigasaki Station in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa—an inseparable locale for the band—giving passengers a real sense that they’ve arrived in Chigasaki.
I’m Doraemon.Ōyama Nobuyo, Kōrogi ’73
The theme song of Doraemon, a beloved national anime that virtually every Japanese person knows regardless of generation.
It’s a track performed by Nobuyo Oyama—who voiced Doraemon for 26 years until the cast was overhauled in 2004—and the chorus group Korogi ’73.
For many people in their 30s and older, this is the song they think of when they hear “Doraemon.” Today, it’s used as the departure melody at JR Noborito Station, the nearest station to the Fujiko F.
Fujio Museum, where it fills many commuters with a sense of nostalgia.
Come, springdōyō
This children’s song is used as the departure chime at Itoigawa Station on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Nihonkai Hisui Line.
The music even changes with the seasons, and this particular piece is broadcast from late January to early April.
It was chosen because the poet Somao Gofu, who wrote lyrics for children’s songs and school anthems, was born in Itoigawa City.
The chord arrangement is stylish, giving it a cool, distinctive feel compared to the usual children’s songs.
The arrival and departure melodies at JR Hokuriku Shinkansen’s Itoigawa Station use the same song, but with a different arrangement.
Be sure to compare them.
The Bride of SetoKoyanagi Rumiko
This is the fourth single by veteran singer Rumiko Koyanagi, who in recent years has become known as a devoted soccer fan who watches more than 2,000 matches a year.
It’s a signature song of hers, a local anthem representing the Seto Inland Sea region, and it became a hit following her breakthrough “Watashi no Jōkamachi.” The song is used as the departure/arrival melody at stations in the Setouchi area—such as Uno, Okayama, and Kojima on the Seto-Ōhashi Line, and major stations on the Yosan Line—and listening to it evokes the scenery of the islands scattered across the Seto Inland Sea.
For travelers, it’s the perfect station jingle that makes you feel you’ve truly arrived in Setouchi.
Astro Boy
The theme song of Osamu Tezuka’s iconic work Astro Boy, Tezuka being regarded as a leading figure in postwar Japanese story manga and known as the “God of Manga.” Because the story sets the birth of its protagonist in 2003 at the Ministry of Science in Takadanobaba, and because Tezuka Productions—the animation studio that made the show—has its office in Takadanobaba, the song has been used since 2003 as the departure melody at JR Yamanote Line’s Takadanobaba Station.
In addition, JR Musashino Line’s Niiza Station also uses the Astro Boy theme as its departure melody, a connection stemming from the fact that Tezuka Productions was once located in Niiza City.
The arrangements differ at each station, so it might be fun to compare how they sound.