This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Every book on this page was chosen because we have read it, not because of the link.
Hi, I’m Moeno, a bookseller in Tokyo.
Looking for Japanese books in English? You’re in good company: Japanese fiction is one of the fastest-growing parts of translated literature, and there has never been more of it to choose from. That’s also what makes it hard to know where to begin.
Most lists of the best Japanese novels are written from outside Japan. This one is written from a bookstore in Tokyo, and every book on it is one I have actually read. Start with the twelve below, then follow the guides for whatever you’re in the mood for.
Japanese readers don’t find Japanese literature easy either. And even in our own language, we still catch our breath at how beautiful it can be.— the motto of this series
We only recommend books we have actually read.
Every book recommended here has been read, start to finish, by me or my fellow booksellers. When I mention a well-known book I haven’t read yet, I mark it Not yet read, and we’d rather tell you that than pretend.
12 best Japanese novels in English to start with
All twelve are easy to find in English, and none of them needs any background knowledge of Japan. Tap a title to read what I think of it.
| Cover | Book | Why start here | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 01Convenience Store WomanSayaka Murata | Short, strange and very funny. The modern classic most readers start with. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 02KitchenBanana Yoshimoto | A short, tender novel about grief, cooking and a midnight bowl of katsudon. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 03After DarkHaruki Murakami | One night in Tokyo. The easiest way into Haruki Murakami. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 04Tsubaki Stationery StoreIto Ogawa | Letters, seasons and the seaside town of Kamakura. Cozy and beautiful. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 05The Memory PoliceYoko Ogawa | Quiet, eerie literary fiction. A finalist for the International Booker Prize. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 06ButterAsako Yuzuki | Food, obsession and a true-crime hook. A recent bestseller in English. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 07What You Are Looking For Is in the LibraryMichiko Aoyama | If you loved Before the Coffee Gets Cold: a librarian who gives people the book they need. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 08Norwegian WoodHaruki Murakami | Murakami’s most realistic novel: love and loss in 1960s Tokyo. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 09Snow CountryYasunari Kawabata | By Japan’s first Nobel laureate. A train comes out of a tunnel into the snow. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 10The Housekeeper and the ProfessorYoko Ogawa | A housekeeper, her son and a math professor whose memory lasts 80 minutes. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 11The Passengers on the Hankyu LineHiro Arikawa | Linked stories on a local train line in Kansai. Perfect for a commute. Read my notes | Get your copy |
 | 12Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of PilgrimageHaruki Murakami | Friendship, Nagoya and a journey to Finland. A gentle Murakami. Read my notes | Get your copy |
Japanese authors to know in English
- Haruki Murakami. The most famous Japanese writer in the world. Start with a short novel like After Dark before the long ones. Where to start with Murakami
- Banana Yoshimoto. Short, gentle novels about loss and comfort. Kitchen is still one of the most loved Japanese books abroad.
- Sayaka Murata. Strange, funny and sharp about what society calls “normal.” Start with Convenience Store Woman.
- Yoko Ogawa. Quiet, delicate prose, from the eerie The Memory Police to the warm The Housekeeper and the Professor.
- Mieko Kawakami. One of the most talked-about Japanese novelists of recent years, author of Breasts and EggsNot yet read and All the Lovers in the Night. More Japanese women writers
- Yasunari Kawabata. Japan’s first Nobel laureate in literature, and the classic place to begin with older Japanese fiction. Japan and the Nobel Prize
- Toshikazu Kawaguchi and Michiko Aoyama. The faces of Japanese “healing fiction,” the cozy novels that have become international bestsellers. Japanese healing fiction
How to choose a Japanese novel in English
- Start short. Many of the best Japanese novels are under 200 pages. A short book is the easiest way to find out what you like.
- Choose by mood, not by fame. A cozy café story, a strange literary novel and a crime thriller are all “Japanese literature,” but they are very different reads. Our guide by mood can help.
- Pick a place. If you’re visiting Japan, read a novel set where you’re going. Books set in Japan, mapped by region
Find your next Japanese book: six guides
Each guide goes deeper into one corner of Japanese literature in translation.
Where to startJapanese Literature: Where to StartTwelve novels sorted by mood: classics, comfort, beautiful prose, page-turners and more.
Cozy & healingJapanese Healing Fiction: 9 Cozy NovelsJapanese healing fiction: cozy, comforting novels for when you’re tired.
Women writersJapanese Women Authors: 27 Writers to Read in EnglishYoko Ogawa, Mieko Kawakami, Sayaka Murata, Banana Yoshimoto, Asako Yuzuki and more.
Haruki MurakamiWhere to Start with Haruki MurakamiWhich Murakami to read first, a reading order, and all his novels in order.
Nobel PrizeJapan, Asia and the Nobel Prize in LiteratureKawabata, Oe, Ishiguro, Han Kang and every Asian laureate, with what to read first.
Books set in JapanBooks Set in Japan: 42 Novels to Read Before Your Trip42 novels mapped by region, with real places to visit on your trip.
About me｜Moeno
I’m a bookseller in my thirties in Japan. During the pandemic, I left my company job and started a small online bookstore devoted to hand-picked books. Today I also have a shop in Ichigaya, Tokyo.
A homestay in Seattle when I was ten made me dream of the world beyond Japan. At twenty I spent a year studying in London; later I worked for a French company, and recently I got married in Paris. I love living in Japan while feeling close to the rest of the world.
That’s why I started this blog: to share the beauty of Japanese literature with as many readers outside Japan as I can. My favorite hobby? Reading wherever I’m traveling.
If you like the books in this article, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, where I talk about books too.
楽しい本と書店員📖小説ご紹介 / TOKYO BOOKSTORE GIRLS TUBEBooksellers in Tokyo introducing novels that are easy to read and fun to talk about.youtube.com/@chapters.bookstoreSubscribe
Japanese books in English: FAQ
What is the best Japanese book to read first in English?
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata or Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. Both are short, easy to read and very Japanese in the best way.
What is the most famous Japanese novel?
Abroad, Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood is probably the best known. In Japan, Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro and Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country are classics every reader knows.
Are Japanese novels hard to read in English?
Not at all. Many of the most popular Japanese novels in English are short, with simple, clear prose and small casts of characters, and modern translations read very naturally.
Who are the most popular Japanese authors in English?
Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto, Sayaka Murata, Yoko Ogawa, Mieko Kawakami and Toshikazu Kawaguchi. See Japanese women writers and where to start with Murakami.
Is Kazuo Ishiguro Japanese?
He was born in Nagasaki in 1954 and moved to England at the age of five. He writes in English and is a British citizen. More in our guide to Japan and Asia and the Nobel Prize.
What should I read before visiting Japan?
A novel set in the place you’re going. Our guide to books set in Japan maps 42 novels by region, from Tokyo and Kamakura to Kyoto, Osaka and Nagasaki.
What are some cozy Japanese books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold?
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library and Tsubaki Stationery Store. There are more in our list of Japanese healing fiction.
Before you go
Japanese literature has so much more to offer than the handful of titles everyone already knows. Pick one book from the list above, and let it lead you to the next.
Happy reading,
from a bookstore in Tokyo.
* Publication details are taken from the English-language publishers’ pages and library records. Prices and availability on Amazon may change.
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through a link on this page, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The order and selection of books are not influenced by advertising.