A classic that evokes the year’s end. Looking back on the year through music [Just a little left of this year!]

Together…MAX

MAX / Together...

Released in November 1999, MAX’s 15th single is a mid-tempo ballad that delicately portrays the warmth you feel in the cold winter air.

Having raced through their career with Eurobeat, here they offer a song that gently seeps into the heart, with softly layered harmonies and an embracing string arrangement.

Simple words sketch scenes of walking under streetlights with white breath hanging in the air, and a quiet resolve as two people draw close together, evoking the solitude of a winter city interwoven with the desire to be with someone special.

The song was featured in a Nikon commercial and as an ending theme on Nippon TV, and was performed on the year-end Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1999.

Amid the bustle of the season’s end, it’s a track that reminds you of the preciousness of time spent with the ones you love.

Winter Phantasm ManiaKyūso Nekokami

Winter Phantasm Mania

The glittering festivity overflowing in the city in December, and the loneliness and impatience everyone carries behind it.

This song by Kyuso Nekokami captures those conflicting emotions with a driving, melodic punk sound.

Included as the ninth track on their December 2017 album “New Wave,” it portrays a protagonist wandering through a winter city, humorously yet poignantly pushing forward through the happiness-filled atmosphere around them.

In Seiya Yamasaki’s lyrics, there’s a blend of self-deprecating irony toward not quite riding the end-of-year high, and the strength to keep running with a smile anyway—something that’s instantly relatable.

It’s a track that gently stays by the side of anyone who, under the dazzling illuminations, looks back on the year with complicated feelings.

Blues of the StarsYoshii Kazuya

Hoshi No Blues

When you look up at the night sky at the end of the year, don’t you feel the stars shining just the same as ever? This song from Kazuya Yoshii’s 2011 single “LOVE & PEACE” gently keeps you company in that quiet moment.

As it layers thoughts upon the stars glittering in the night, it portrays the feeling of quietly reflecting on the days gone by and on yourself over the past year.

With a sound woven from guitar and keys that carry a bluesy resonance, it values depth that sinks into the heart over flashiness, resonating comfortably when you want to step away from the bustle of the year’s end and take a deep breath.

No matter what kind of year it’s been, if you feel like looking up at the sky to take stock of your path, give this song a listen.

End-of-year hydrangea double suicideIchikawa Yukino

End-of-year hydrangea double suicide

Set against the tense moments before the New Year’s Eve bells toll, this work portrays the resolve of a woman who has chosen to stay by someone’s side.

Sung by Yukino Ichikawa to previously unpublished lyrics by Yū Aku, the song appears on the album “Utaonna III: Shōwa Kayō Collection & Yū Aku Works,” released in October 2018.

In July 2019, it was also paired on a single commemorating her first headlining run at the Shin-Kabukiza theater.

The scene-setting—right down to the proper noun Ajisai-sō—deepens the narrative amid the cold year-end air, while Kohei Kō’s shadowed melody and Megumi Wakakusa’s orchestral arrangement heighten the vocal contours.

When you want to look inward at the year’s end, why not immerse yourself in its profound lyrical world?

December MorningMatsuda Seiko

December Morning

This winter ballad, which closes out the 1981 album “Kaze Tachinu” (The Wind Rises), paints a scene of waiting for a cherished visitor at a lodge on a morning when powdery snow is dancing in the air.

The delicate lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto and melody by Kazuo Zaitsu, a renowned duo, let you feel both the crisp, clear chill of December and the warmth indoors at the same time.

With acoustic production arranged by Shigeru Suzuki, the sound avoids flashiness yet gently seeps into the heart.

It’s the perfect song for a quiet morning as the year draws to a close, when you want to look back on the past year and take things slow.

God of RomanceHirose Kōmi

Kohmi Hirose – God of Romance (Official Video)

This song is often called a classic winter love song.

It captures the feelings of a woman who wants to fall in love, set to an upbeat, catchy tune.

While it isn’t actually a song about winter, it started being called a “winter staple” because it’s frequently played at ski resorts.

Spending a calm, mellow New Year’s is nice, but maybe it’s also nice to yearn for love in a bright, poppy way.

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HATSUMI

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North Wind ~May It Reach You~Makihara Noriyuki

[Official] Noriyuki Makihara “North Wind ~May It Reach You~” (MV) [6th Single] (1992) Noriyuki Makihara/Kitakaze - kiminitodokimasuyouni

As the end of the year approaches, even the familiar cityscape can somehow look a little lonely, can’t it? A classic song that captures that scene is “North Wind ~May It Reach You~.” Released in 1992 by Noriyuki Makihara, the track has long been beloved by fans and later inspired various arranged versions.

At first glance, it may seem like a melancholic song, but if you read the lyrics closely, you’ll find it’s actually a motivational tune that sings of hope for the spring that will eventually come.

If this hasn’t been a great year for you, give it a listen.

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