KEY TAKEAWAYS

• What is the trendy word of the day in Japan?

• What is ほんmoney mean in Japan?

• What are other trendy Japanese words in 2025 and 2026?

“ほんmoney” – Tokyo’s New Slang for That Real, Real Cash Life

Daniel TJ International Correspondent Tokyo, Japan

Okay, so I was standing in line at a FamilyMart in Shibuya, just trying to grab an onigiri and a canned coffee, when the guy behind me—maybe 20-something, dressed in those baggy designer pants and a beanie despite it being like 30 degrees out—leans over to his friend and goes, “Bro, that freelance gig paid in ほんmoney.” And I blinked… ほんmoney? Did he just mix Japanese and English on purpose?

Yup. He sure did. And apparently, it’s a thing now. So, let’s talk about it.

What the heck is “ほんmoney”?

So, ほんmoney (sometimes stylized in Roman letters, sometimes in katakana like ホンマネー) is this super casual, trendy little slang term that started popping up in Tokyo in the last year or two—especially among younger folks, creatives, and freelance types.

It’s a mashup of:

• “ほん” (short for 本物 or honmono), which means “real” or “genuine”

• and, obviously, “money”

So literally, “real money.”

But it’s not just any money. It’s money that feels real to you. That might sound weird, but let me explain.

Real-life usage: not just any yen

Back to that guy in FamilyMart—his “freelance gig” paid in ほんmoney. What he meant was:
He actually got paid, in real, usable, spendable cash. None of that “we’ll pay you in exposure” or “points” nonsense.

And that’s kind of the vibe behind it.

I asked my friend Aki, who does illustration work in Koenji, if she’s heard it. She laughed and said:

“Of course! Like when I sell prints at a market and someone pays me in cash, that’s ほんmoney. But when I do a project for a company and they say they’ll pay me in gift cards or something ‘after promotion ends’... that’s not ほんmoney. That’s ghost money.”

Ghost money. Oof.

So, in short: ほんmoney = money you can actually touch, use, and feel good about earning.
There’s kind of a pride to it, too.

A rebellion against “fake” work culture?

Let me get a little personal here. I’ve been living in Japan for a while now, and Tokyo is, well… Tokyo. It’s fast, expensive, and full of hustle. But there’s also this weird undercurrent in the job market—especially for freelancers and creatives—where people are expected to do work “for the experience” or “for exposure.”

And I get it, that happens everywhere. But it feels especially sharp here, where there’s a strong culture of ganbaru(doing your best), even when there’s no actual reward.

So when someone says, “やっとほんmoney入った！” (Finally got some honmoney!), it’s almost like a sigh of relief. Like, “Yes. I did a thing. They paid me. I’m not crazy.”

Where you hear it

Lately, I’ve heard it pop up more and more.

• My friend Haruki, who DJs in Shimokitazawa, said:

  “Most gigs pay in free drinks or a small fee, but last month one paid 20,000 yen. I was like, hell yeah, that’s ほんmoney.”

• Another buddy of mine, Sayaka, teaches dance in Nakameguro. She said:

  “I choreographed a commercial. They paid well. No weird delays, no weird deals. Just wired it to my bank. That’s the most ほんmoney I’ve had in months.”

• Even my barista in Kichijoji used it when we were chatting. He said he picked up a weekend gig filming events:

  “I don’t love the work, but they hand me an envelope after every job. That’s peak ほんmoney.”

It’s kind of cute, honestly. Like a little badge of honor in the form of slang.

It’s not always about big money

Here’s something I’ve noticed: ほんmoney isn’t necessarily about a lot of money. It’s more about the feeling.

For example, I sold an old guitar on Mercari recently for 12,000 yen. When the money showed up in my account, I turned to my girlfriend and said, “Hey, I got some honmoney today.”
She laughed but totally got what I meant.

There’s something so satisfying about money that isn’t hypothetical. Like, no deductions, no mystery, no 3-month wait. It’s yours. You can buy ramen with it tonight. That’s ほんmoney.

It’s catching on fast

What’s wild is how quickly it’s spread. I hear high schoolers saying it on the train. I’ve seen it used on TikTok, even in small influencer videos like:

“This PR collab was cute, but didn’t pay in ほんmoney.”

And I’ve even seen it used as a hashtag.
#ほんmoney = digital clout with cash in hand.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up in a dictionary one day. It’s got that ring to it. Like, it just works.

More than slang — it's a feeling

Okay, this might sound cheesy, but for a lot of us living and working in Tokyo—especially those of us freelancing or doing side gigs—money can feel kind of abstract.

Like, sometimes you work your butt off for a job, but the money’s tied up in red tape, invoices, or point systems. It doesn’t feel real.

ほんmoney is like this way of saying, “This was real. This was mine. This felt fair.”

Last thoughts (and my favorite example)

Oh—before I wrap this up—my favorite ほんmoney moment so far?

There’s this older lady in Asakusa who runs a tiny used book shop. I bought a few books from her, and we got talking. When I asked if the shop was doing okay, she smiled and said:

“毎日ちょっとずつ。現金は最高のほんmoneyね。”
("Little by little every day. Cash is the best kind of honmoney.")

So yeah. She gets it. And now, I kind of say it too.

So what about you?

Ever had a job that paid in ほんmoney?
Not just cash, but that ahhhh, finally kind of money?

Next time you get that envelope, or the bank notification pings and your face lights up, just smile to yourself and say:

“Yep. That’s some good ほんmoney right there.”

Want more little Tokyo language gems or stories from the freelance grind? Hit me up in the comments or send me your own ほんmoney tales. I love hearing them.

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