Japanese literature has a special way of pulling you right into the rhythms of everyday life. What people eat, how they spend their free time… all the little details that make the culture feel alive.
I’ve always been a big reader, and I became fascinated with Japan long before moving there, thanks to books like these that transported me into everyday kitchens, cafés, and city streets.
Whether you prefer thrillers, magical realism, social commentary, or cosy and heartwarming, these ten Japanese books each offer a slice of life that will help you step right into Japan.
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
In line with many popular Japanese novels at the moment, this is a cosy and heartfelt tale with a lot to teach us about life.
A story about loneliness, friendship and redemption, Sweet Bean Paste centers on Sentaro, a failed writer with a criminal record who works in a small dorayaki shop, and Tokue, an elderly woman with a secret of her own who makes incredible bean paste. Their unlikely friendship is very charming and shows us the power of human connection.
I found this to be a very emotional story. It touches on a dark side of Japanese history which I didn’t know much about. It also blends the themes of food and changing seasons which are often key in Japanese books.
A lovely taste of Japan, recommended for readers who enjoy books about the meaning of life and human relationships.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
This has become one of the most popular Japanese books in recent years, both in Japan and internationally, and with good reason!
The short novel follows Keiko Furukura, a thirty-something single woman who has never fit in, until she finds purpose in her life as a convenience store worker. She embraces the rules and structure of working for the convenience store, but struggles with the increasing pressure from the outside world to find a husband and live a ‘normal’ life.
Convenience Store Woman is a sharp look at work culture and pressure to conform in Japan, from the perspective of a someone on the fringes of society. It’s very funny in places but can also be unsettling.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is the first in a bestselling series of novels about a Tokyo café with a magical difference: it can send people back in time, but only for as long as it takes for their cup of coffee to cool down.
This book follows four different people who choose to revisit different relationships from the past, with emotional results. It makes you think about who you’d want to see again and what you’d change, if given the chance.
I’d recommend this for readers who like heartfelt books about human relationships, with a touch of whimsy and magic.
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi
In Diary of a Void, Ms. Shibata (whose first name we never learn) is fed up with being given all the menial jobs just because she is the only woman in her office.
One day, reaching her limit at work, she spontaneously fakes a pregnancy. Suddenly her life, and the way people treat her, changes dramatically.
She embraces the ‘pregnant’ lifestyle, even joining exercise classes for pregnant women and choosing a name for the baby, until it’s no longer clear what’s real and what’s not.
This is a very unique and somewhat bizarre novel, that highlights some of the issues that women face in Japanese society.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
A no. 1 bestseller in Japan, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is another top pick for fans of Japanese magical realism and fantasy. It follows seven teenagers who find themselves pulled into a mysterious castle through their bedroom mirrors, where they have a mysterious challenge to complete in order to make their wishes come true.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror might sound out-of-this-world, but it’s also a gritty and moving story about common teenage issues like bullying and loneliness. The thread that links all the characters is that they all refuse to go to school – a major problem in Japan – for various heartbreaking reasons.
People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami
Hiromi Kawakami is a multi award-winning Japanese writer, best known in English for her novels Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop.
People From My Neighbourhood is a collection of short, whimsical stories with surreal twists. They are all set in the same neighbourhood, which at first glance seems to be an ordinary Japanese suburb, but turns out to have all sorts of fantastical goings on!
There’s a boy who lives under a sheet for thirty years, an apartment building that afflicts visitors with odd curses, and a man with two conflicting shadows.
This short story collection is perfect for people who want to dip their feet into Japanese fiction, especially the weird side!
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
A modern classic, Breasts and Eggs is a hard-hitting novel about womanhood, motherhood, and identity in contemporary Japan.
It follows three women at different stages of life: the thirty-something protagonist, her sister, and her pre-teen niece. The characters contend with family trauma, body image, poverty and more.
Longer and heavier than the other novels on this list, this is a book to get your teeth into. Recommended if you are interested in feminist literature and societal issues.
There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
A burnt-out young woman is searching for the easiest job possible, but instead she stumbles into all kinds of strange, surreal positions – from monitoring a famous author on a hidden camera feed, to a poster-sticking job that causes her to clash with a weird cult.
Some of the jobs lean towards the surreal. Eventually she realises that she just can’t avoid caring about her job.
With each section covering one job, this book reads almost like a collection of intertwined short stories. It’s a quirky book and at times I wasn’t really sure where it was going, but with each job weirder than the next, it really drew me in!
Out by Natsuo Kirino
I don’t usually go for horror/thrillers, but this novel had me gripped from beginning to end!
Out is a dark and disturbing book that follows four female factory workers who become entangled in murder and cover-up.
After one of the women strangles her abusive husband and enlists the help of her co-workers to dispose of the body, the women are drawn into a spiral of criminal activity that ends with a devastating brush with the underworld.
If the current cosy, cats-and-cafes trend in Japanese books is not for you, you might enjoy this very different book set in the gritty shadows of Japanese society!
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
I had to include an honorary mention for Murakami! Norwegian Wood is the first Japanese book I ever read and it played a big role in first sparking my interest in Japan.
This is an extremely emotional coming-of-age story about a Tokyo university student dealing with the aftermath of his best friend’s death by suicide a few years prior. He also struggles with his love for two different women.
Some call this a depressing book, and it’s certainly extremely heartbreaking, but it’s also beautifully written. And it contains many of those evocative, everyday details about food, music and so on that really transport you to Japan.
What’s on your reading list?
No matter your favourite genre, I hope you can find a book recommendation on this list to capture your imagination!
All these Japanese books offer windows into Japan that will help you feel as if you’ve travelled to the country, without ever boarding a plane. And any of them would make a thoughtful gift for a traveller, a literature lover, or anyone dreaming of Japan.
Why not add one to your reading list and begin your journey today?
Do you have a favourite Japanese book to read? Drop your recommendations below!
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Rebecca is the founder of Team Japanese. She spent two years teaching English in Ehime, Japan. Now back in the UK, she spends her time blogging, self-studying Japanese and wrangling a very genki toddler.