Remioromen

Overview

Remioromen (レミオロメン) is a Japanese three-piece rock band formed in 2000 by Ryōta Fujimaki (vocals, guitar), Keisuke Maeda (bass) and Osamu Jingūji (drums). Often abbreviated as "Remio," the band went on hiatus with an official announcement on 1 February 2012 and returned to activity in 2025.

The name came from wordplay: the members played rock-paper-scissors and the winners chose syllables first. Fujimaki took "Re" from Radiohead, Jingūji took "Mio" from the first syllables of his girlfriend's name and his own, and Maeda, who liked trams, took "Romen" from the Japanese word for tram.

All three members are from Yamanashi Prefecture and served as the prefecture's tourism ambassadors for three years from December 2005. Fujimaki left the management company Oorong-sha on 31 May 2018.

Career

Amateur years

The three were classmates from elementary through high school in Misaka (now Fuefuki), Yamanashi. They played in the school brass band before leaving to concentrate on their own band. In December 2000, Fujimaki, unwilling to give up music, consulted Maeda, who was working as a studio musician in Tokyo, and decided to pursue music; they recruited Jingūji as drummer. From 2001 they played between live houses in Maebashi, Gunma (where Fujimaki attended university) and Shimokitazawa.

After Fujimaki graduated in March 2002, the three returned to Yamanashi, vowing to disband if nothing came of it by August. They rented the vacant main building of a local shrine, converted it into a studio, and spent about a year rehearsing and writing there, a time later called the "shrine era." Their first song written there was "Mame Denkyū," and many songs on the mini-album Festa were born in this studio.

Debut and breakthrough (2003–2005)

• 12 March 2003: indie debut with the mini-album Festa on DAIZAWA RECORDS.
• 20 April: cleaned the shrine and moved to Tokyo.
• 21 May: first single "Ameagari."
• June: signed with Oorong-sha and SPEEDSTAR RECORDS.
• 3 August: first appearance at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2003, opening the final day's LAKE STAGE even before their major debut.
• 20 August: major debut on Victor Entertainment with the single "Denwa."
• 19 November: first major album, Asagao.
• 25 November: first one-man show at SHIBUYA-AX.

On 9 March 2004 they released "Sangatsu Kokonoka (March 9)," a song celebrating a mutual friend's wedding, and performed in the gymnasium of their old junior high school. "Akashia" followed in May.

In 2005 they released "Moratorium" (January), "Minami Kaze" (February) and the album ether (9 March) in consecutive months, and held a sold-out concert at Nippon Budokan on the same day. A national tour, "TOUR 2005 'ether trip'," ran from May to June. "Ao no Sekai" (October, their first commercial tie-in) debuted at No. 2 on Oricon, and "Konayuki" (November), an insert song for the drama 1 Litre of Tears, peaked at No. 2 and became their best-selling single, one of the biggest of 2005. "Sangatsu Kokonoka" was also used as a choral piece in the drama and re-entered the charts. Ringtone downloads of "Konayuki" passed one million in December.

Peak years (2006–2008)

In March 2006 they released "Taiyō no Shita," the theme of the film Kogitsune Helen (No. 2 on Oricon). The album Horizon (17 May 2006) hit No. 1 on the Oricon album chart and stayed there for three weeks. On 12 August they held "Japan's first runway concert," SUMMER LIVE "STAND BY ME," on the runway of Japan Aviation Academy in Kai, Yamanashi, drawing about 30,000 people. Their first live album, Flash and Gleam, followed on 1 November, and their first arena tour, "TOUR 2006 'ISLAND OVER THE HORIZON'," ran from November to December. At the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2006, the "Konayuki" video won Best Pop Video.

In 2007 they issued the double A-side "Sangatsu Kokonoka/Paradigm" (a limited run of 500,000 via KitKat CD packs), "Akanezora," and a live DVD; "Hotaru/RUN" in May; appeared at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2007 in August; held a free concert at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall in October; and released "Wonderful & Beautiful" in December. In July 2008 came "Motto Tooku E" (No. 6), and on 29 October 2008 the fourth album Kaze no Chroma, whose opening track "Tsubasa" was the ending theme of the film Major: Yūjō no Winning Shot.

2009–2012

In 2009 the band moved to OORONG RECORDS, a label established under Avex as a joint venture with Oorong-sha, releasing "Yume no Tsubomi" on 7 January. A 24-date tour, "TOUR 2009 'Kaze no Chroma'," combining hall and arena shows began on 23 January, and their first best-of album, Remio Best, arrived on 9 March. Subsequent singles included "Starting Over" and "Koi no Yokan Kara" (2009) and "Tatsun da Jō" (2010); digital singles were "Sakura" (2009), "Kachōfūgetsu" (2010) and "Your Song" (2011), and the album Kachōfūgetsu appeared in March 2010. Their song "Gogo no Teikiatsu" is the theme of the Japanese version of the film Dear Wendy.

Activity stopped after 2011, and as Fujimaki's solo career was announced, the band's hiatus was officially declared on 1 February 2012, with no explanation given. Fujimaki debuted as a solo artist on 17 October 2012 with the album Ōkami Seinen.

Hiatus and reunion

All albums were reissued when the band moved to OORONG RECORDS in 2009, but the label dissolved during the hiatus, leaving their major-label singles and albums out of print. Streaming rights returned to SPEEDSTAR RECORDS around 2014, and when their full catalogue arrived on subscription services in 2019, the rights moved to OORONG-SHA.

On 27 September 2025 the band opened X, Instagram and TikTok accounts, began daily countdown videos from 29 November, and on 6 December 2025, their 25th anniversary, announced their return. They revealed a national tour starting 9 March 2026, their first in 15 years.

Musical style

The band began as a straightforward three-piece, but since "Minami Kaze" (2005) many recordings add other instruments, and live shows often feature keyboards and a support guitarist, allowing a wide range of moods. Their sound is generally laid-back pop/rock with catchy hooks. Although they never had a No. 1 single on Oricon, their releases stayed on the charts for long periods and their overall sales were high.