Both tracks were written and produced by Hoshino; he wrote the lyrics without deep thought, utilizing lines he personally liked without regard for literal meaning.

The song is a homage to the jazz band Crazy Cats featuring upbeat instrumentation, consisting mostly of piano, bass, and drums, through serious lyrics.

It has a pop and disco sound inspired by Western soul artists, with lyrics that feature double meaning about excitement for spring and an intimate encounter between a man and woman.

Hoshino gave debut performances of the songs during his Two Beat in Yokohama Arena concert in December 2014 and featured both on his national Yellow Voyage tour throughout 2015.

He described the waiting period as the most difficult in the surgery process, which was reflected by a melancholic ballad style in the song's early draft, similar to his earlier single "Shiranai" (2012).

He imagined forming a trio with formation resembling a black jazz piano player, a heavy metal/white drummer, and a Japanese bassist.

[2]: 1 Commissioned to create a spring campaign song for the J-Wave radio station, Hoshino wrote "Sakura no Mori" with a cherry blossom theme in mind.

[2]: 1 [4] Hoshino wrote the lyrics to both tracks without deep thought and utilizing lines he liked regardless of particular literal or grammatical sense, a direction in his writing he noted had become stronger following the album Stranger (2013) and its singles.

[8] Hoshino is credited as songwriter, arranger, producer, and singer on both A-side tracks, whilst Takahiro Uchida is named for master engineering.

[7][9][11] The song opens with a light and rhythmic piano intro that reminiscences to older theatrical media like slapstick comedy and silent movies.

[11] "Sakura no Mori" sees Kobayashi on a Rhodes piano, Wataru Iga of Benzo [ja] on bass guitar, and Daichi Ito on drums.

The song introduces stringed instrumentation from cello, violin, and viola to the single, and features extra vocals in the chorus from singer Orarī and Cero members Shōhei Takagi and Yū Arauchi.

[12][14][15] According to analysis by Rockin'On Japan's Marina Watanabe, the lyrics at their surface level describe emotions of excitement at the beginning of spring, but a small change of perspective could twist the text to instead refer to an intimate relation between a man and woman.

[12][16] Mikiki's Chikako Katō found it reminiscent to neo soul and recent alternative jazz artists such as José James.

[17] After wrapping up the Fukkatsu Live Tour at the NHK Hall on April 9, 2014, Hoshino announced that he would release his first post-recovery single, which would include "Sakura no Mori" and also a video DVD in limited editions.

Santa Yamagishi [ja] was revealed as the director of the first edition DVD, titled Crazy Disc, featuring the special program "Kinkyū Tokubetsu Bangumi: Hoshino Gen Ninki Song Top 10" (緊急特別番組・星野 源 人気ソングTOP10, lit.

Copies of the single bought from Tower Records, Tsutaya, HMV, and Yamano Music would come with different postcards of Hoshino's alter ego Akira Nise, with design depending on the store.

Yoshiba, in a web review for Skream!, wrote that the single kept a consistently light and comfortable atmosphere despite the different styles of its track listing, and opined that Hoshino's low-key vocals helped deliver the meaning of the lyrics over the smoother melodies.

[14] Oguri of Tower Records noted a style of Japanese emotion on the second A-side, complimenting the track for a catchy rhythm that he called "impossible not to dance to".

[11] Watanabe, in a listicle for Rockin'On Japan, named "Sakura no Mori" as one of the seven greatest "deep erotic rock songs", calling the double entendre of its lyrics unique and also alluring.

[29] The single's first edition cover art was one of 50 nominees chosen by voters of the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for the 2015 Music Jacket Awards.

[32][33] It finished as the 14th best-selling single of June according to Oricon with 46,729 units sold,[34] and was named at number 83 on Billboard's year-end physical sales chart for 2014.

[45][46] Hoshino's next tour, the Hitori Edge in Budokan in August 2015, featured both songs on the set list; the footage was included in limited editions of Yellow Dancer.