Classic winter ballads. Recommended winter ballad roundup [2026]

PresentINI

INI | ’Present’ Official MV

This song, included on the first winter single THE WINTER MAGIC released in November 2025, is a romantic dance-pop number that colors winter scenery and the holiday season.

Interweaving images like powdery snow and glowing lights, it gently portrays a pure desire to convey one’s feelings to someone special.

With lyrics penned by Rihito Ikezaki and Hiroto Nishi, the words, spun with an intimate sense of distance, resonate deeply.

The same single also features Because You Were There, written as the theme song for the film INI THE MOVIE “I Need I,” resulting in a work where festivity and sentiment coexist.

The exhilarating blend of shimmering synths and harmonies makes it a perfect track for those special winter moments spent with lovers or family.

Stars are falling.Senchimirimentaru

Sentimental - “Hoshi ga Furu” (Falling Stars) Music Video

This is a winter ballad that sings of lingering feelings for a former lover.

Released by Centimillimental in November 2025, the song was written as the commercial theme for the Laguna Illumination “Carnival of Light and Water,” held at the Laguna Ten Bosch resort in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture.

Grand piano-and-strings arrangements are layered with Atsushi’s delicate vocals to paint a poignant world where longing and bravado intersect.

The protagonist, torn between wishing happiness for the person they parted from and emotions that won’t fade, resonates powerfully alongside the image of lights pouring down the winter night sky.

It’s a track I especially recommend to anyone trying to face forward after a heartbreak.

Merry XmasBoA

BoA / Meri Kuri

One winter ballad you just can’t leave out is BoA’s “Meri Kuri,” right? Ever since its release in 2004, it’s been listened to every year as a song that brightens up the Christmas season.

Its winter-perfect sound and slow tempo give it that classic winter ballad feel.

It’s filled with all the feelings you have for the one you love, and just listening to it warms your heart.

In a season when we feel things more deeply, it’s a song that stays with you in many situations—when you want to express gratitude to your partner, or when you’re feeling lonely because you can’t see them.

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Kado(guchi) Shichigatsu

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Winter FireworksOku Hanako

Winter Fireworks / Hanako Oku [MV]

Okubukako, the queen of heartbreak songs known for her piano and red glasses.

Her winter song paints the sadness and heartache of being told by the guy you secretly love that he likes your friend.

I was dyed in your colors—and then he says the one thing the heroine least wants to hear.

What exactly did he say? This is Okubukako’s unrequited love song, dedicated to all women in love.

My Gift to YouCHEMISTRY

CHEMISTRY “My Gift to You” Official Video

Released in 2002 as a limited-edition single of 100,000 copies, “My Gift to You” was preset on the world’s first mobile phones compatible with chaku-uta (song ringtones), making it surprisingly the world’s first chaku-uta as well.

It’s a slow-tempo ballad perfect for listening to on a cold day when you’re feeling a little lonely.

It fills you with a gentle warmth, as if someone you love is telling you they’ll always be by your side.

Let CHEMISTRY’s ultimate love song warm your heart.

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Snow, fall and scatter toward you.Wagakki Band

Wagakki Band / Snow, Fall and Scatter Toward You

This is Wagakki Band’s enchanting winter ballad, where shamisen and koto weave their tones together with Yuko Suzuhana’s vocals interlaced with shigin (poetic recitation).

Included on the album “Shikisai,” released in March 2017, it was also chosen as the theme song for the stage play “Laughing in Purgatory,” performed that summer.

Set against a landscape of falling, accumulating snow, it portrays a heartrending tale of feelings that cannot reach the one who matters most.

Highly recommended if you’re looking for a dark, beautiful rock ballad that seeps into the depths of your heart on a cold night.

Winter MorningRyokushokushakai

“Winter Morning / Ryokuoushoku Shakai” covered by Sakuya Saori [Acoustic Performance]

A classic ballad that sets a heart swaying between bravado and true feelings against a winter backdrop.

This track, placed at the end of Ryokuoushoku Shakai’s 2020 album “SINGALONG,” was written by vocalist Haruko Nagaya during her university days, with moving to Tokyo in mind.

Its lyrics—where the small lies we tell to hide our loneliness intersect with the resolve to keep moving forward—are tenderly supported by delicate piano and string arrangements.

It’s a song that gently stays by the side of those who’ve started living on their own or are striving in a new environment.

A winter tune perfect for a quiet night when you want to face yourself.