[2025] Iconic songs and love songs themed around or set by the sea and sandy beaches — sea songs

Paradise BabyRIP SLYME

RIP SLYME – Rakuen Baby

This is the fifth single by the hip-hop group RIP SLYME.

It became a long-running hit.

The rhythmic groove makes your body sway, and the chorus is one you can’t help but sing along to.

It’s also fun that a variety of instruments, like maracas, are used.

The rhyming lyrics and rap sections are part of its appeal.

It’s a classic summer song that you feel like listening to when the season comes around.

Stay aquamarineCarlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe

Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe [Stay Like Aquamarine] MV

This is a romance-filled song that describes a woman he yearns for as “Aquamarine.” The melody matches that mood, exuding a retro chic vibe that feels straight out of the early bubble-era ’80s.

Carlos Toshiki’s distinctive vocals are also captivating.

It was released when I was so young that my memories are hazy.

I imagine many people felt there was something strikingly cool about the group name Carlos Toshiki & Omega Tribe at the time.

fairylandAyumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki / fairyland (Short Ver.)

Singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, whose charisma turned her into a social phenomenon and a beloved diva who left an indelible mark on the J-POP scene.

Her 36th single “fairyland,” which featured multiple tie-ins including a Camellia Diamond commercial song, also made headlines at the time for its music video, which reportedly cost over 200 million yen to produce.

Many listeners will likely relate to the lyrics, which recall memories of the seaside from childhood amid a hectic life.

It’s a refreshing pop tune with a dramatic arrangement and a catchy melody that lingers in the ear.

On the ShoreDef Tech

Def Tech – On the Shore【Official Music Video】

This commemorative track was released to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut.

Dropped in May 2025, the song serves as the lead single from the album “4ELEMENTS.” It carries a message of finding the courage to look inward in nature and move forward again when faced with disagreements or difficulties in understanding.

The sound of waves and the rhythms of nature blend with the melody to offer a soothing sense of calm.

Accompanying this release, a nationwide tour is scheduled to begin in August 2025, kicking off at Osaka-jo Outdoor Music Hall and stopping in cities across Japan.

It’s a highly recommended track for anyone grappling with life’s uncertainties or seeking the healing power of nature through surf music.

By the SeashoreMaison book girl

Maison book girl / By the Seaside / MV

Among sea-themed songs, there is one that stands out for its unique sense of weightlessness and profound worldview.

Crafted by Maison book girl, the track features intricately shifting time signatures that ebb and flow like waves, woven together with elements of electronica and post-rock.

The lyrics poetically depict emotions like the bittersweet sorrow one might feel on the ocean floor and the hopeful sensation of swimming through vast waters, resonating deeply with listeners.

This piece is included on the album “Children of the Sea and the Universe,” released in December 2019.

It’s also noteworthy that the music video—created as part of an Amazon Prime Video project—incorporates ideas from the members themselves.

It’s the perfect number for moments when you want to quietly lose yourself in sentiment by the seaside, or entrust ineffable feelings to music on a late night.

It’s also recommended for those who want to experience experimental, highly artistic music that transcends the conventional boundaries of idol pop.

sea glassStraightener

Straightener – Seaglass

This is a song I can’t help but want to listen to whenever summer is coming to an end: Straightener’s “Seaglass.” When I first heard it, I thought it had a somewhat unusual flavor for Straightener.

The track is the band’s 21st single, released in 2016.

It’s a hugely popular number that instantly cranks up the summer mood when you hear it at summer festivals and the like.

As the title “Seaglass” suggests, the lyrics are filled with summer memories—those moments that feel a little bittersweet and make your heart ache when you look back on them later.

At the sea, the heart longs to be laid bare.Mr.Children

Mr.Children “At the Sea, the Heart Wants to Be Naked” from Mr.Children Tour 2018–19: Gravity and Breath

Among Mr.

Children’s songs with ocean themes—like “Deep Sea”—“By the Sea, the Heart Wants to Be Bare” is a track that wraps their signature breezy innocence and all-encompassing sense of scale in a driving momentum.

It’s included on their 2018 album Gravity and Breath.

Hopeful guitar riffs, delicately moving bass lines, gentle drum tones, and Sakurai’s bright vocals—the groove here is just so fun! Don’t you ever find that when you’re standing before the sea, the small stuff stops mattering, or that music helps you drop your guard and meet a different version of yourself? This is a song that lets you feel that unadorned joy.

Try playing it on a seaside drive!