I'm writing this from Japan and in preparation for this trip I've been listening to a lot of J-Pop music. Since it's December, I compiled eleven songs that would make the perfect winter playlist as I walk through the streets of Kyoto and tokyo. I also made a custom cover art for this mix and I'm sharing my process down below.
This mix consists of chill R&B, pop, and alternative rock songs that are great to listen to while walking through the streets of Tokyo. These are songs that I discovered throughout the winter on Spotify and have been listening to on repeat. These songs deserve to be heard by more people outside of Japan, and a lot of them have English verses too so I hope you like it!
FEATURED SONGS
- WINTER WITHOUGHT YOU - XG
- snow love - tonun
- snow jam - Rin音
- スパークル - Lilas Ikuta
- Stand by me, Stand by you - HIRAIDAI
- 会いたい - もさを。
- Demo, - Takasetoya, Ren
- リセット - Taichi Mukai
- Subtitle - OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM
- Michi Teyu Ku - Fujii Kaze
- MINT - TakaseToya
STORY BEHIND THE COVER ART
I listened to this playlist at least 30 times to make sure I was happy with the song selection. While listening to it, I couldn't help but picture myself walking through the lively streets of Tokyo, wearing a thick winter coat and watching all the locals strolling by. Once I arrived, I found myself living exactly what I had imagined.
One of the most iconic things about Japan is its vending machines. They're scattered around everywhere in the streets, filled with a wide selection of warm and and cold drinks. At night their bright lights also act as guide posts. As you walk around Japan, you might come across some unique designs too.
Earlier this year I also visited Hokkaido to snowboard in Niseko and it was one of the most memorable winter experiences ever.
One of the scenes I distinctly remember is seeing a vending machine lit up at night completely covered in snow (can't find a photo 🥲) so I wanted to recreate that. I also found this photo of my friend Caitlin next to this dog statue in a little box.
I drew my design on my ipad using Adobe Fresco and followed a similar layout to my ENDLESS SUMMER: J-Pop Summer Hits cover art. I had a lot of fun incorporating more Japanese characters into this piece, including the drink bottles and orange box for the cat.
Finally I mocked up my illustration with a vinyl record to give it some extra flair. I'm pretty happy with the final results!
My Japan trip is sadly coming to an end but I'm happy I got to make my final artwork of 2024 in this beautiful country!
Hope you like this playlist and if you'd like to save it or share it, use this link!
And if you have other song recommendations, please send them my way!
Cheers,
Chie
