Recommended cheer-up songs for people in their 30s: classic and popular Japanese hits

If I can laughUrufuruzu

Ulfuls – If I Can Laugh

The lyrics are encouraging.

It’s a medium-tempo ballad with a good groove—a song that can make you feel both wistful and bright.

As you move from the exuberant youth of your twenties into your thirties, becoming a true adult, you can’t push forward on momentum alone.

Many people start to feel anxiety and urgency about a future that may not match the life they’d hoped for.

This song reassures you that if you can smile at those struggles, you’ll be okay.

Chase the chanceAmuro Namie

Namie Amuro – Chase the Chance

It’s a song that stirs up that teenage urge for adventure.

Rather than a club track, it feels more like disco music—catchy and energizing.

Around this time her songs became very popular, and Amuro quickly became a fashion icon for high school girls.

It brings back memories of my youth and gives me a boost again.

With one liter of loveVaundy

With one liter of love

Vaundy, who handles everything from songwriting and composition to video production, delivers genre-defying music.

The track in question, included on the acclaimed album “replica” released in November 2023, quietly stays by your side on days when you feel emotionally empty.

Its light flow and simple band sound seem to affirm the sense of lack and loneliness in everyday life.

It encourages you to accept those unfulfilled feelings as your honest emotions, giving you the push to take the next step.

The album “replica,” which features this song, reached No.

2 overall on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.

It’s a stylish, gentle pep song that can fill you up on mornings when you’re just not feeling it.

blinkAwesome City Club

Matataki / Awesome City Club (MUSIC VIDEO)

Awesome City Club captivates with their refined sound woven by male and female twin vocals.

“Matataki” is a piece they released in April 2021.

This song warmly encourages those moving toward the future.

It sings of a sparkling hope that keeps you facing forward, even as you experience meetings and partings.

Even on days when you’re battered by a downpour of words, the message that it will become a story uniquely your own resonates deeply.

It’s the perfect anthem for taking a new step—and it’s also great for relaxing nighttime listening.

IdeaHoshino Gen

Gen Hoshino – Idea (Official Video)

This is a masterpiece by Gen Hoshino that I especially want you to listen to when you’re feeling a bit low.

Released in August 2018, the song was used as the theme for the NHK morning drama series “Half, Blue.” Its structure is captivating, unfolding from a buoyant, marimba-based intro into a gentle first verse.

His warm voice gives you a soft push forward.

The positive worldview—one that seems to turn even the sound of rain into song—will surely lighten your heart, whether on your commute to work or school, or as you stand before an important challenge.

Fukuwarai (a traditional Japanese “lucky laugh” face-making game)Takahashi Yuu

Yu Takahashi - Fukuwarai

Yu Takahashi has many songs that give you the strength to keep going when times are tough and help you stay positive.

This track is exactly one of those: it conveys, in a straightforward way, that smiles are a universal language that transcends linguistic barriers.

The hope that one person’s smile will inspire another’s, creating a happy chain that spreads across the world, really resonates.

Released in February 2011 as Takahashi’s third single, this song became widely loved as the CM song for Tokyo Metro’s “TOKYO HEART.” For some reason, Yu Takahashi’s music brings a deep sense of reassurance—it makes you feel like you have an unfailing ally.

Listening to it gives you that comforting feeling, like a dose of nourishment for the heart—an empowering number.

Go for it!Urufuruzu

Ulfuls Gatsu Daze

This is a fantastic track that gives you confidence and energy.

Its disco-style rhythm, catchy guitar lines, and positive message are compelling, giving you the courage to try without fearing failure.

Released by Ulfuls in December 1995, the song’s exposure on TV and in the media at the time rapidly boosted the band’s popularity.

Included on the album “Banzai,” it led to their first appearance on NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1996, and that same year they also won the Golden Arrow Music Award.

It’s the perfect song for when you need courage to keep facing challenges or want to fire yourself up.

It’s also great for getting hyped together with friends and uniting your hearts as one!