Japan Lyric Room
Blog

From Japanese Song Lyrics to Everyday Language

The Japan Lyric Room Blog is a companion to our main lyric breakdowns.
Here, we pick out words and phrases from Japanese song lyrics—city pop, J-Pop, anime songs, and Shōwa classics—and show how they connect to everyday Japanese.

You’ll find short features on useful expressions, cultural nuance, and updates from the Japan Lyric Room project.

Japanese Year-End and New Year Greetings: What to Say (and When)

Japanese Year-End and New Year Greetings — How Japanese People Close One Year and Begin the Next with Words — In Japan, the period from late December to early January is not just a change of dates—it’s a time to properly “close” relationships for the year, and then begin them again with words. These greetings are not used randomly. They are often said as a set of phrases, and timing matters. For Japanese language learners, this is a key cultural point that many textbooks don’

Dec 27, 20253 min read

What is Japan Lyric Room?

Welcome to Japan Lyric Room! Hello, and thank you for visiting Japan Lyric Room (JLR). Japan Lyric Room is a music blog run by native Japanese speakers, created for readers who want to explore and appreciate Japanese song lyrics more deeply—not just through translation, but through meaning, nuance, and cultural context. Why Japan Lyric Room exists JLR was born from a simple wish: to share the emotions and expressive beauty embedded in Japanese lyrics in a way that is clear, c

Dec 20, 20252 min read