Yano's debut album, "Japanese Girl", was released on July 25, 1976, was a major hit in Japan, and gave Yano overnight success. The album was recorded in Los Angeles with Little Feat, and of the album's ten tracks, she wrote nine of them. The album has been praised for its unique blend of different musical styles such as jazz, pop, blues, and traditional Japanese folk music, and "still sounds fresh today", according to Paul Bowler of "Record Collector" magazine. The success led to her self-producing the second album, "Iroha Ni Konpeitou", which was released in 1977. It was recorded primarily in Japan, and features Yano improvising on a variety of instruments, backed up by prominent musicians such as Rick Marotta and Haruomi Hosono. Around this time, Yano started collaborating with Yellow Magic Orchestra and joined them on two world tours. They also played as the backing band for her 1980 album "Gohan Ga Dekitayo", which translates to "Dinner's Ready", and marked a shift in her musical style towards electro-pop. The album was also one of the earliest CDs ever released in 1982.