This short novel was such a pleasure to read. It has that calm, heartfelt and emotional atmosphere that really typifies the best of this style of Japanese literature. This is a short review for a short book.

The premise is simple - in an otherwise unremarkable café in Tokyo, it is possible travel back in time. Through four short stories featuring four characters with small connection to each other, we explore different motivations for wanting to travel through time, and how, even if you cannot change the present, an experience can still change a person.

What I particularly enjoyed about the book was how simple it was. The rules of time travel were a little complicated and off-putting (and not without some risk), but that perhaps served to make it an option only for the truly desperate.

And, despite featuring four people with four very different sets of reasons for wanting to travel in time (perhaps even in order of importance), they all still needed to hear, or say, the same thing from someone, even if they hadn't realised it.

I like that kind of thread of wistful interconnection in a story, and how the characters were ultimately linked and important to each other.

I also enjoyed the strange and precise rules of time travel in this book. They added a level of admin and complexity so that it couldn't be used by just anyone, but by those desperate enough to take the risk.

I did want to know who the lady in the dress was, and how she came to be there - but also I enjoy the strange mystery of just not knowing too. In a book about time travel, it doesn't all require an answer.

4.5 stars rounded down to 4.

This is quite a difficult book to describe. While, it does contain time travel it is not a sci-fi book, instead the time travel allows the human stories to be explored. I would say this is perfect for those who like magical realism.

It is broken into four stories mentioned in the blurb, that take place over the course of a year within this magical cafe. Each story focusing on a different type of relationship: A young romance, a long standing marriage, The bond between sisters and the mother/daughter relationship. Each of them are beautifully bitter sweet and leave the reader slightly heart broken with a little edge of hope. The writing has a sort of softness to it, a slow paced quiet quality that really captures the sweet yet sad moments and the feelings of the characters in those moments.

It's one of those books where the setting is as much a character than the characters of the book. It is very character driven establishing how they came to the cafe, what part the cafe plays in their life and why they make the decision to travel in time, despite all the rules. We never leave the cafe, instead just getting glimpses of the outside world from the inner monologue of the cafe's patrons, and this again lends to its escapist, tranquil feeling to the narrative.

Overall, it is a very sweet and lyrical book that is just really nice to spend some time with. It is heart breaking in the best way but also filled with hope. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to picking up the next book and revisiting the cafe.

A beautiful and heartfelt book, full of warmth and hope. A perfect pick-me-up with enough substance to give you something real to ponder. The less you know about the book before starting, the better!

Really interesting concept where a coffee shop transports you back in time. Captivating characters but the translation is sometimes jarring.

Before The Coffee Gets Cold was just the most wonderful melancholic tonic. I loved how simple it was and yet there's something so magical about the way it captures the human condition.

I’m sorry but, here is a book that made me cry.

I have always enjoyed the fantasy of time travel and the temporal anomalies associated with it.
In these four stories, linked throughout by familiar characters, we learn author Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s gentle thoughts on the subject. This isn’t so much science fiction as interpretation of the human heart.

He has created a basement café where time seems to have little influence. Three clocks adorn the wall and only one appears to show the correct time. No windows betray the time of day or season and the place seems to have an ambient temperature yet no air conditioning is working.
Urban legend holds that within this humble place patrons can travel back in time; rules seem to make the trip meaningless as it cannot impact the present or change history. The opportunity is rare. To engage in this activity you need to be seated in one particular place. That table unfortunately seems constantly occupied by a woman reading a book.
Since the author is a skilled playwright the atmosphere, sense of place and dialogue are first class. The stories are drawn from difficult circumstances, where misfortune and sadness abounds. They are over arched with the nuisance of a hard life and a sense of missed chances. Furthermore it probes our own thoughts, and the gauntlet is almost thrown down to ask how we would act if we could make up for an oversight or failed response to show we care or loved someone?
This isn’t voyeurism, the time travel is selective in that you can only meet someone who has frequented the café themselves. It is a brief encounter to redress some personal loss, hurt or grief, that while it will not change things in the here and now will perhaps address the what ifs and the if only.

A clever insightful and gentle perception of human weakness, unconscious thought and drive for meaningful relationships.

Being a Japanese writer we are blessed by the skill of the translator’s work and privileged to see another culture where heart and mind resonate with our own and our human condition is revealed as a universal one.

My tears may have dried but my praise for this book knows no bounds. I am delighted to have had access to it and heartened to learn another book is coming.

Coffee and time travel and second chances. If I could turn back time, what, or better whom, would I want to revisit? Would I try to change something? Would it be for a happy encounter or to confront someone? Oh, the joy of possibilities. Right! The book deals with this in a very quirky way providing its own time travel (and totally absurd) theory. This is a magic realism book though, not sci-fi, and this is something that Japanese authors are good at, of course some are better than others. The book is enjoyable, the premise is definitely intriguing and in a sense unique, so these are definitely good aspects and I assume this is what made the book to stand out. But apart from that, I don't think it worked in every level. It was an easy read, even emotional at times, but I was left with the impression that something was missing, something didn't quite add up. Anyway, if you are looking for a light reading, and you love absurd stories and situations, this book will be just fine. Just don't get your expectations too high though.

I received a digital copy after I requested it from Netgalley, however that will not affect the review. My opinions are my own.


This was such a bittersweet short story. A geniality in its length that work perfectly, although I am sure I would have enjoyed it even if it was longer. This is probably my sff brain talking but when I find a good idea that works so well, I just want to keep reading about it.

I won’t go into detail about the plot as I feel like the synopsis says enough and for me, this is one of those books when the least you know about them and the execution, the better. But just the idea of a coffee shop that allows you to travel to the past.

We get to know different people and their reasons for going to the cafe and wanting to travel to the past. And one of the wonders of the book is that each of them, on itself, are a story per se. But nothing is really what it seem in appearance and there is so much more to every tiny detail. And not only that but the way that it’s written is utterly beautiful and visual making the stories much more visual and dynamic. I ended up feeling the heat of Tokio and hearing the bells as feeling and emotions play a very important part in this one.

I do believe this is one of those books that get better every time you read it and deservedly so.

I can see what this book was trying to do, and how well it could impact the right readers, but unfortunately I don't think I'm one of them. I honestly found myself bored while reading this, and it never truly captured my attention all that much. I wanted to love it, but I feel like it went straight over my head.

I loved this book. You never knew where the person who sat at the table was going to take you. Absolutely loved this book.

If you are like me a seasonal reader this is one is a fantastic winter read, with a nice cup of coffee obviously. It's whimsical and heart warming but also kind of bitter sweet. Filled up with a set of relatable characters, plenary of coffee and interesting points of view.
I was kind of puzzled by the author's style and I did a quick search to find out that he wrote a play that was very successful then the book deal came up and in 2018 was made into a film, so now I understood why the style felt a little strange and clumsy at times as the descriptions felt rather forced, and some scenes went a little slower than I would've like.
Being his first ever novel I think is a good start, I'm sure it can be improved with experience. The translator did a great job at putting the increíble Japanese sense of humor, and atmosphere into words that westerners would understand.

Edit: after I read and sent the review I have been thinking about the book quite often, and I even play a game with my friend when we pretend we are at Funiculi Funicula, during lock down 2020, and now I actually can say that even when the characters and the writing style felt clumsy at thpime, I absolutely love the book, I purchase it in audio and a physical copy, because it's easier to revisit some chapters. It's stored under the shelf "books that change my life" in Goodreads. Now I'm looking forward to the second installment.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is such an interesting book.
This book is set in a basement cafe called Funiculli Funiculli, in Tokyo, Japan. This particular coffee shop is known for its urban legend, in which people travel to their past.
During the novel we meet four people (guests), who each hope that they can make the best use of their time when they travel back. The journey has its own risks and rules - such as, sitting on a particular seat in which to travel back in time, and they don't have a clock to track the time whilst they are there. The only key to this journey is that they have to drink the cup of coffee before it get's cold.
The book carried so many emotions, and was very focused. The characters throughout the novel were all very thought out, and you could clearly identify them all.

One might think may be a culture barrier within this book, but it is universal. This book entails 4 people's attempts to revisit someone they love in the past with some rules. This book speaks of the human condition of longing, of missing someone, of knowing you may die before you meet someone. I will happily continue to pick this book up time after time After leaving a lasting impression, this remains the only audiobook I have cried to.

What a wonderful treat of a book this is and the fact that it was selected as a book club pick of the month was a bonus. I'm a huge fan of Japanese literature and this charming Tokyo based fable is beautifully paced and one which has stayed with me since I read it some months back.

The setting of this slender and thought-provoking novel is a tiny atmospheric backstreet cafe . This cafe has acquired a reputation for being somewhat magical due to its ability to send its patrons back to the past. If you could travel to a point in the past would you? I think many of us can think of a situation where we would have made a different decision, however, this is not the opportunity for a 're-do' as you are unable to change future outcomes. Rather it is an opportunity to spend time with whomever you wish and perhaps say things you had meant to at the time - but again nothing will change the outcome.

There are strict rules you must follow for time travel to happen but the most important rule of all is that you must return before the coffee gets cold. Failure to do so will mean that you will live life as a 'ghost', a mere shade of your former self - and remain stuck in the cafe in a kind of repetitive limbo. This happened to one patron who now sits in the cafe in the same seat only leaving to use the restroom - it is at this point that other patrons can sit in the seat, the coffee is poured and they are transported back to their chosen time. I loved the ceremonial feel of the coffee being poured from a particular pot by a particular person - the simple beauty of this tradition and the methodical way in which is carried out is just wonderful and so vivid in my mind, even now.

The novel is divided into four sections, with a different character travelling back in time in each section. Each has their own reason for travelling back and, as a reader, you cannot help but hope that there is some small way they can alter the outcome or say the thing they had wanted to. I cared for each of the characters very deeply and hoped everything worked out.

This novel has left me with so many thoughts. What would I change? What would I have said? Would I be disciplined enough to leave the situation and return before the coffee gets cold or would I get stuck living the life of the 'ghost' who sits in the seat day after day turning the pages of the same book?

A beautifully told fable which will leave you with a smile and maybe a thought of how you should approach your life moving forward as there are no do-overs. Loved it.

A time travelling cafe sounds like quite a remarkable concept for a novel, and indeed it is. We meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer to revisit a pivotal time or event in their past. The novel asks us all to consider what we would go back in time to, and what we would change. An unusual and thought-provoking book - I enjoyed it greatly.

This was such a unique read, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring how and why each character went back in time. A beautiful story that stays with you long after you finish it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book. This was a lovely, quirky read with a really original plotline. I wish a cafe like this one actually existed in real life! A delightful read.

I was so excited to read yet another Japanese author with this book. It sounded so interesting with its little cafe house and the time travelling story. But as soon as I started reading it, something bothered me. The book didn't feel like a novel, it felt like a script. I never read the about the author section in books before I finish the books but this time I wanted to see if he was a novelist or a scriptwriter. Well, he was a scriptwriter. I have certain expectations when reading a novel and narrative is especially important for me. So I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to.

This book has become one of all time favourites. It has a unique and interesting plot. It is part family drama, part time travel. I look forward to more from the author.

A beautiful book about the power of love, family and time travel. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy.