City Pop (シティーポップ) is a pop music genre from Japan. It originated in the mid-1970s, reaching peak popularity during the late 1970s to 1980s. It also spread to other areas of Asia, particularly establishing a foothold in Hong Kong, where many covers of popular City Pop songs were popularized in Cantopop, in addition to inspiring the Pop kreatif genre in Indonesia.

It is considered a predecessor to modern J-Pop (though it certainly has more of a sophisticated vibe to it compared to modern J-Pop). Various City Pop songs are sampled in many Future Funk songs. Famous City Pop artists include, Mariya Takeuchi, Taeko Onuki, Miki Matsubara, Anri, Naoko Gushima, Tatsuro Yamashita, Junko Yagami, etc.

Much of City Pop was influenced by '70s and '80s Japanese "New Music" (New Wave) and techno-kayō ("techno-pop") artists, such as Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano, Ippu-Do, and Sandii & the Sunsetz. City pop combined these Japanese influences with the influence of American funk, jazz and soul music.

There are many City Pop compilations on YouTube for people to listen to, with channels such as Ganymede Cafe making 40 minute long compilations of City Pop songs. Many of these songs are played in the background of an old anime GIF on loop. City Pop is considered an aesthetic genre of music due to its casual and upbeat nature.

Despite the best years of City Pop being behind the genre, the spirit of it lives on as sometimes it'll be interspersed with Vaporwave (and a lot of Vaporwave artists will sample City Pop in their songs to invoke the imagery of sophisticated Japan on the rise in the 80's and 90's).

A lot of City Pop images depict shots of opulent city life and high nightlife; hence the name. Many of these images are taken from tropical locations like California and Hawaii, featuring oceans, beaches, and palm trees.  These images are often stylistically edited to show more pops of magenta, cyan, red, yellow, blue, and Purple.

Architecture is a common element depicted within the aesthetic, particularly pools and Modernist houses. City streets, skylines, and beaches are also prominently featured in city pop. Typically, these streets will be empty and peaceful with nobody around except a vintage vehicle (giving a similar vibe to the After Hours aesthetic).

City Pop fashion tends to be very opulent, high end, and draws a lot on the Yuppie fashion of the time (and so a lot of J-Preppy and Resort style turns up in City Pop fashion).  Indeed, a lot of City Pop fashion has served as inspiration for a lot of modern Japan-inspired aesthetics such as Vaporwave and Lo-Fi. "Business Casual" is a popular phrase in City Pop fashion. Later City Pop music from the mid-to-late 1980s also draws a lot of inspiration in its female fashion from the then-emerging Bodikon subculture.

Sailor Moon and California Crisis anime are prime examples of City Pop outfits.

Typical City Pop fashion items include:

*can be worn in neon or loud colours/patterns

Wearing City Pop motifs (cities in neon colours, cassettes, soda or strawberry milk cans, occasionally flamingos, etc.) can also be considered a less casual and/or more modern subset of City Pop fashion.

Hairstyles are reflective of the era, but simultaneously have a wide range.

In women's hairstyles, common characteristics include voluminousness, curliness, and heavy application of products like hairspray and dry texturising spray. These include:

Men's hairstyles are similar to women's hairstyles, being long and voluminous