Eight Million Ways to Happiness is a timely and moving pilgrimage through Japan's ancient spiritual traditions. As she navigates the terrain of her own grief in the wake of her mother's death, Hiroko Yoda shows us how we might ease our own suffering and reawaken a profound appreciation of the beauty of the world

RUTH OZEKI, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of A Tale for the Time Being

In her quest to get to grips with Japan's spirituality, Yoda trains as a Shino shrine-dancer, hikes up mountains to meet mystics, and consults a fortune teller . . . This is an elegantly written book, full of insights about Japan

Constance Craig Smith, Mail on Sunday

A fascinating dive through hidden layers of the Japanese worldview

KATHERINE MAY, author of Wintering

A welcome new voice . . . Offers a series of personal and highly practical insights into Japanese life and spirituality . . . Hiroko Yoda makes for an excellent guide

Christopher Harding, New Statesman

Yoda refuses to dole out a prescription for being happy but shares what she does in her own life. And what's core to her message is this: happiness is a perspective . . . Which is refreshing when you consider that, in the West, we're told that happiness comes from ticking off milestones – buying a house, getting married, landing that next big job

Claire Cohen, Grazia

Vividly illustrated with anecdotes and explanations from the author's own life, and it is this attention to detail and pacing which allow often weighty, existential topics to sink in . . . Crucially, this book is not prescriptive . . . It is simply a presentation of the many facets to what make up the topic of spirituality in Japan . . . Though this book is ultimately at its core an overview of Japanese spirituality, it is also in equal measures a deeply personal coming to terms for the author with the death of their parents, and how they processed that grief

Laurence Green, Japan Society