So, you've gotten kinda good at Japanese and you're thinking that it might be time to read your first novel. Brilliant.

Problem is, how do you choose a book that doesn't leave you feeling instantly overwhelmed and maybe like your Japanese isn't so good after all? Because let's be honest, the jump from polished textbook dialogues to dense, stream-of-consciousness literary fiction can be brutal for first-timers. You need something engaging, approachable, and most importantly, something that won't require you to look up every other word.

This list is for those of you who want to jump into real books for grown-ups. We're talking adult novels here, not YA. You could find easier stuff in the children's section perhaps, but these are five titles that prove you can handle bona fide novels made by natives for natives.

🧐 How I Picked the Books for this List

I didn't just pick my favorite books. These are all books that I’ve personally read, which I believe are relatively easy-reads when it comes to novels. I tried following this criteria (more or less):

• Short length: I’ve kept the page counts low. The pages you see here are for paperback versions, so they’re actually shorter than you think. There is one exception, but trust me, it’s totally worth it.
• Simple plots: I avoided anything with experimental or overly intricate plots. While I think that there are a lot of good books which have complicated stories, for your first novel-reading experience in Japanese, it’s better to have a plot you can track even when you miss a few words.
• Relatively simple language: Some authors use flowery or abstract language—challenging even for those who have passed the JLPT N1. The books here have direct prose with relatively tame vocabulary.
• Focus on story: These are all story-driven page-turners, rather than introspective literary classics. That doesn’t mean they don’t have emotional depth (some of them do), but story-driven novels are generally easier to follow. Having a narrative that actively pulls you forward also encourages you to stick with it, even when the reading gets tough, since you will want to know what happens next.

The 5 Novel Suggestions (Least Pages to Most Pages)

1. 『卵の緒』(Tamago no O) by 瀬尾まいこ (Seto Maiko)

• Length: 216 pages (split into two novellas)
• The Premise: This is kind of cheating since this isn’t one novel, but two novellas in one book. This makes it a great place to start though, since the sooner you can finish a story, the sooner you will develop the confidence that you really can read Japanese literature.
  • Story 1: A young boy suspects he isn't his mother's "real" child. We explore his small, everyday life and the truth behind his feelings.
  • Story 2: A teenage girl's family life implodes when her mother takes in the child from her father's old affair. Filled with pent-up anger, the girl takes her resentment out on her new younger half-brother. The story explores the messy, complex evolution of the family under this awkward new arrangement.
• Why It's Easy: Both stories are narrated by a young person (a child and a teen). Narratives told through the eyes of younger protagonists tend to be easier to follow and feature less abstract vocabulary. Both are compelling stories rooted in daily life, so you avoid specialized or historical language.

2. 『カラフル』 (Karafuru) by Eto Mori

• Length: 272 pages
• The Premise: A spirit is called from the afterlife and given a second chance, possessing the body of 14-year-old Makoto Kobayashi, who has just committed suicide. The spirit has to spend time on Earth trying to figure out the mistakes Makoto made, as well as figuring out what his own great sin was that earned him this weird probationary existence.
• Why It's Easy: The plot is simple and high-concept, making the language easy to follow. Because the protagonist is a spirit who is new to being human (and inhabiting a teenager's mind), the narrative often uses direct and straightforward language to describe emotions and situations. It’s funny, moving, and very approachable.

3. 『また、同じ夢を見ていた』 (Mata, Onaji Yume wo Miteita) by Yoru Sumino

• Length: 304 pages
• The Premise: The protagonist is Koyanagi Nanoka, a third-grade elementary school student who is cynical and overly wise for her age. She's searching for the meaning of happiness and finds herself meeting three completely different, seemingly unconnected people—a high-school girl, a prostitute, and an old woman. The charm is in how the story gradually, and beautifully, connects their lives and perspectives.
• Why It's Easy: The book features a high volume of dialogue, which is usually the easiest part of a novel to read (shorter sentences, common vocabulary). Plus, the main character is a child, keeping the internal monologues accessible.

4. 『52ヘルツのクジラたち』 (52 Herutsu no Kujiratachi) by Mai Mochizuki

• Length: 312 pages
• The Premise: Kiko, a young woman, flees Tokyo for an isolated countryside town. She struggles to integrate with the highly suspicious locals and clearly has dark secrets about why she left the city. The story kicks into emotional gear when she befriends a strange, non-verbal child who is clearly being abused.
• Why It's Easy: This one is a great balance of human drama and mystery. While the plot moves between flashbacks and the present, the compelling central mystery is addictive. The writing itself is never overly complicated, making the story easy to follow, despite its narrative structure.

5. 『バトル・ロワイアル』 (Batoru Rowaiaru) by Koushun Takami

• Length: 995 pages
• The Premise: Yes, this is the exception. Nine years before The Hunger Games (guess who ripped off whom), we had this much more visceral, chaotic thriller. A class of 42 ninth-grade students are forced onto an isolated island to fight a death match until only one is left standing.
• Why It's Easy (Despite the Size): The book may be long, but the chapters are incredibly short, often just a page or two, and they end on a cliffhanger. More importantly, the narrative constantly shifts perspective, introducing you to almost all of the 42 students. This means the story is told in small, digestible, and fast-paced chunks of inner monologue and action, which keeps the vocabulary moving and makes the huge page count feel less intimidating. Despite the length of the book, I remember finishing this book in just a few days, as the plot is too irresistible to put down.

Now you've got the list. Stop thinking about it, pick one of these books, and start reading. You don't get better at reading by studying vocabulary lists; you get better by actually reading tons of engaging content. The only truly hard part is starting, so grab one of these and prove to yourself your Japanese is better than you think.