How To Use 3,000 Yen by Hika Harada

 

Publisher: Scribner UK

On Sale Date: September 10 2026

Pages: 320

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

In How To Use 3000 Yen, we meet 3 generations of women of the Mikuyira family and how money has an influence on their lives.

The first woman we meet is Miho, who is saving small amounts of money to save for the things she truly wants and needs; a dog and a home of her own. She was inspired to be wise with money by her grandmother Kotoko, who said to her; How you spend a sum of 3000 yen, or about 20 euros, says a lot about your own personality. We meet Miho's sister Maho, who worked as an investment advisor, but now has to stay home for her newborn daughter, for which she already sets money aside for her future education. We meet their mother Tomoko, who is thinking of divorcing her husband, after she was very dissapointed by his lack of caring for her after she had to stay in the hospital. But can she afford a divorce, and be able to support herself financially? Their grandmother Kotoko is figuring out how to stay financially well in her old age, and as she doesn't want to stay home and worry about it, she takes on a job in a small restaurant. We see their day to day lives, their choices in life and how their financial choices and situations affect the future and the past and in different ages and the role of women in Japanese culture and society and in different roles as wife, mother and daughter and as a pensioner. The focus is mostly on how the women where saving money and their motivation behind it.  But also the message that money is not the most important thing in life, and that family comes first.

I found the storyline and the characters both very enjoyable. The storyline was very different then anu other Japanese novel I've read so far, this time it was not set up around cats and magic realism, but around something more realistic; money and how it affects our day to day lives. The story is very lighthearted, but I loved how the three characters where created and their seperate storylines. Overall a very enjoyable Japanese novel with a strong storyline and characters that is not to miss if you are a fan of Japanese fiction.