Ashiya Madam Roundtable: Inside Japan’s Wealthiest Town Talk Money and Lifestyle

Brought 38 million yen in cash

Ashiya City in Hyogo Prefecture, with the Rokko mountain range to the north and Osaka Bay to the south, is located less than 15 minutes by train from central Osaka and Kobe. This city is widely known as one of Japan’s most prestigious celebrity towns, home to elite neighborhoods such as Rokurokuso-cho, where top executives of major companies live, as well as prominent entertainers and professional baseball players.

On the other hand, the lifestyles of the billionaire residents remain wrapped in secrecy.

This time, FRIDAY held a roundtable discussion with three Ashiya-based celebrities: Eri, who runs a cosmetics company; Yumiko, a former reader model; and Yasuko, known around her as a lady of a completely different scale.

With nonfiction writer Kei Kato, author of “The Unknown Truth of Ashiya: What Kind of People Live in Japan’s Most Luxurious Residential Area” (Kodansha), serving as moderator, they discussed the real way super-rich people spend money.

— Your friends in Ashiya make unbelievably large purchases, don’t they?

Eri: One of my friends went to Cartier at Daimaru Kobe and bought a ring for 15 million yen just because the saleswoman was very friendly.

Yumiko: I also know someone who bought a necklace worth 38 million yen in cash. It was right before a consumption tax increase, so she casually said, “I have to buy it before it goes up” (laughs). She put 38 million yen in cash into a large bag and said it was “so heavy and difficult to carry.”

Eri: Speaking of which, Yasuko-san, your friend was invited on a tour from Cartier’s headquarters in Paris, right?

Yasuko: I don’t know exactly what the selection criteria are, but there is a special tour where about 10 select groups are chosen from Cartier customers across Japan. On-site, they ride helicopters to tour castles, cruise down the Seine River while having lunch with the president of Cartier’s main store. Flights are first class, and travel expenses are covered.

Eri: That sounds like an amazing tour. Though I suppose it also means they end up buying a lot of Cartier products (laughs).

Yumiko: There’s more to that person’s story. One year, she received a Cartier watch for Christmas, and in January the following year, she received a Cartier diamond ring from her husband for her birthday. At the end of January, for their wedding anniversary, she also received a Mercedes-Benz G-Class. From Christmas to just one month later, the total came to 30 million yen (laughs).

The use of a ¥3 million dress is a one-time occasion

— Ashiya celebrities are often associated with parties.

Yumiko: You have to wear a different dress every time, so it was quite a headache. I usually wear dresses like “Vera Wang” (minimum price as of March 2026 is over 800,000 yen), but Yasuko wears “Valentino” haute couture. The dress was so large that even getting into a car was a struggle (laughs).

— By the way, how much was it?

Yasuko: I think it was around 2 to 3 million yen. Since you only wear it once, it just stays hanging in the closet.

Eri: Recently, there seem to be rental services for party dresses.

Yumiko: You can rent dresses that cost around 1 million yen for as little as 100,000 yen. It seems people who aren’t the real thing use them, but rental dresses get worn many times and become dull in color. You can tell immediately just by looking.

Yasuko: At first I didn’t know anything about the party world, but I was influenced by Yumi-chan. There was a time I went to parties all the time (laughs).

Yumiko: Actually, a company selling pearls mainly in Hyogo Prefecture helped spread party culture. It all started when they held events with a dress code like please wear the pearls you already own, which led to parties becoming popular in Ashiya. That was more than ten years ago.

— Do you ever sell all the luxury goods you own?

Yasuko: No. I either throw them away or give them to friends.

Eri: It’s a hassle to sell them. It takes time too.

Yumiko: I give them to my daughter. Though she might end up selling them (laughs).

— What is currently popular among Ashiya celebrities?

Eri: Going to LA to watch Shohei Ohtani (31) and taking photos of his games. With the weak yen, travel costs and tickets have gone up, so good seats can cost several million yen. I often hear people talking about having seen Ohtani in person.

Yasuko: I know a lot of people who have gone to see Ohtani.

Eri: Ohtani is in a class of his own. In Ashiya, even if celebrities or athletes are walking around, no one approaches them. I think that’s why so many famous people live there.

— Land prices in Ashiya have been rising recently, and in areas like Namiyamacho and Funadocho, prices exceed 3 million yen per tsubo. Isn’t it difficult to buy property there?

Yumiko: Prices are going up, but apartments still sell immediately after being built. Luxury homes are also being newly constructed.

Yasuko: I once heard that when construction began on a house, the owner distributed Hermès plates to neighbors with an apology for the noise.

— Do burglaries ever happen?

Yumiko: Many people in Ashiya are subscribed to SECOM, so they arrive immediately if anything happens.

Yasuko: When a burglary happened at a friend’s house in Okuchike, a remote area of Ashiya where you have to pass through a toll road, SECOM arrived too late. After that, she started leaving cash at her entrance. She apparently thinks, “If I leave 500,000 yen, maybe even burglars will just take it and leave” (laughs).

[Part 2 here] Ashiya Madam Roundtable: “We’re just living ordinary lives” — the real way of spending money

From “FRIDAY”, April 17 & 24, 2026 combined issue