I agree somewhat, but you should try out his latest book "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage: A novel", though apparently not yet available in English. I just started it and so far it feels very different from his other books, though still very great.
(And hard-boiled wonderland is indeed brilliant)
I'll keep it in hand for when there is an English translation. I can't read Japanese (except for a handful of go terms like black, white and "first to move".)
