Another great collection of cosy short stories, in line with the previously published book by the same author. The characters all are going through something in life and they get to understand aspects of themselves overcoming their difficulties, partially thanks to a cute hippo with restorative properties!

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park is a charming and feel-good book with interconnecting stories revolving around a Hippo ride, Kabahiko, in a small neighbourhood park.

This book is all about healing and rediscovering yourself and your strengths. I really liked how these different stories connected and how each character was struggling with something different but also something people can relate to. I also really liked the symbolism of Kabahiko and that the healing truly came down to how these characters viewed their lives and the world around them.

This is honestly a beautiful, heartwarming and whimsical read that I ended up reading in one sitting. I find myself thinking about this book often and absolutely recommend it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story totally charmed me. In just 200 pages, it managed to steal my heart.
The writing is gorgeous, the plot flows so effortlessly, and before I knew it—I’d finished the whole thing in one sitting

Kabahiko, the “healing hippo,” becomes a bit of a local legend. People believe that if you touch the part of the hippo where you want to be healed, Kabahiko will work its magic.
Of course, it’s not literal magic—but there’s something about its presence that gives people strength. As the story unfolds, some characters find courage, others gain confidence, and many start seeing life from a new perspective.

Each story is captivating in its own way, exploring different themes and personal struggles that the characters learn to navigate.
I loved how their lives overlapped in small ways, since they all lived in the same neighborhood—it gave the story such a warm, connected vibe.

I absolutely adored this book and will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from Michiko Aoyama.
I really hope this one gets translated into Indonesian too—it deserves to be shared widely!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: injury, brief mention of pregnancy

I really enjoyed “What You Are Looking For Is in the Library” by them and requested this book.
It is a very cozy story with very low stakes. Good for anyone just wanting a gentle hug of a book. It doesn’t go as deep as library, so if I had to recommend one that would be it.
Perhaps it also has something to do with two different translators.
All the stories are lightly interconnected by their residence or them hanging out with the hippo in the playground.
I very much enjoyed the last short story.

This is a collection of interconnected short stories. All protagonists live in the same newly built house and all seek healing of some form from a Hippo-ride in a nearby playground that is said to help heal the respective bodypart of yourself that you touch of his.

I think this book will appeal to readers and fans of the so popular healing fiction from Japan (and Korea). It is not very deep, written in a very gentle and un-offensive way, you do not need your brain to understand anything, just flow in the lukewarmth of the narrative and enjoy.
I found it a tiny bit boring, tbh. I had hoped for a more magic realism approach but there is no magic here. No talking cat or secret whispering, nothing. All these people solve their own problems by just facing them and thinking a bit about them. The hippo is only there for a second in each story. Which is ok, I guess, just not what I had hoped for.
The only story that really annoyed me was the 4th one about a little boy with some psychosomatic pain. That kid, and all other kids in his story, did not behave like a kid! I had to keep reminding myself that he was not in fact a high schooler or university student but a literal elementary school kid! Has the author ever met a child, I wonder. My guess is no.
Overall, fine. I’d give it 3.5 stars but that weird kid really rubbed me the wrong way, so 3 it is.

Another sweet example of the ever-growing genre of 'healing' fiction. I'm a big fan of these kind of works and really enjoyed Aoyama's previous novel 'What you are looking for in the Library'. This novel didn't have quite the impact on me as some of the others, but it does exactly what it says on the tin and I had a lovely time reading it.

This novel is quite short and comprises of 5 loosely interlinked stories, each told from the point of view of a different resident of an apartment block, who all go to the healing hippo for some sort of support. I found some of the stories more engaging than others, but they all offered a gentle, low stakes exploration of their struggles. Some of these points were perhaps a little too saccharine for me, but if you're in the mood for this kind of novel, this is the perfect book for you.

“If you touch the part of your body that hurts to the same part of Kabahiko, miracles of miracles, you’ll be healed. […] They call him healing Kabahiko. […] Because Kabahiko sounds like hippo.”

Kabahiko sits in the middle of a quiet park close to a five storey apartment block. In this book, we meet five neighbours, who each need Kabahiko’s help:

- Kanato who hopes to recover the amazing marks at school he scored at his old school;
- Sawa, a lonely new mother who wishes to connect with other mums in the same way she used to connect with customers when she worked in retail;
- Chiharu, a wedding-planner, who wants to be able to share with others in their joy;
- Yuya, who lies to avoid sports day with a fake injury, only to find he really is in pain and..
- Kazuhiko, who wonders whether despite his worsening eye sight, as he gets older, there is still joy and wonder to be found in life.

As we follow each story, we are reminded that our minds and bodies are not separate from each other and that our inner anxieties can impact our lives in physical ways too. The author reminds us of the importance of focusing our attention on the present, on being in the moment and how we should try not to worry about how others perceive us, as in doing so, we may lose sight of our true selves and what really makes us happy.

Whilst I preferred ‘What You Are Looking For Is In The Library” (a book I reallly loved), this was still a nice and gentle read and I enjoyed it. If you like Japanese fiction, you will probably like this one too.

A lovely uplifting positive read. Everyone needs a healing hippo!

I will be buying this book as I did not get to finish due to time contraints

This was a sweet book, and an easy read. Very similar to a lot of Japanese novels I have read, this book follows 5 different people, all of whom live in the Advance Hill condo development.

Each faces a problem, and inevitably, each one ends up visiting Kabahiko the magical healing hippo. Forced to reckon with what is causing their difficulties, usually more mental than physical, each of the five slowly recognise the root of their issues, and find a way to move forwatd, a healed if somewhat changed person.

Ultimately a story about perspective, and introspection, this is an enjoyable book. For me, it is missing a little of the heart from Aoyama's first novel, but it is very enjoyable nonetheless.

“What you are looking for is in the library” is one of my most favourite books of all time. The message that the right book finds a person at the right time and a librarian’s role in it was so remarkable that it pulled me right back into reading more and better.

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama is equally lovely. Kabahiko might be the magical hippo in the park but this book asserts that each person has their own Kabahiko. We can find someone who can alter our thought process and our life paths for the better. All we need is to be open and receptive.

We meet residents of Advance Hill condominium in the book. Some of them are going through physical ailments which are manifestations of what’s troubling their heart. And the journey of their healing is beautiful. The ages of these people vary and I feel everyone will find their stories relatable.

I wouldn't say more so that I don't spoil it for you. But if you love Healing Fiction, this is one at its finest. Please pick it up and hope it spreads love and light into your life.
It’s super short so you can read it in a day. Plus it’s the perfect pick for #womenintranslationmonth 🌸🌸

What You Are Looking For is in the Library is one of my favourite Japanese novels and I was so excited to read more from Michiko Aoyama!

I must confess that I’ve become a little fatigued with the healing genre as I’ve read so many that they’re all starting to blur together, but this is one of the best I’ve read this year.

There’s a lovely quality to Aoyama’s writing and her characters feel more developed and complex than those in similar works. I liked that the characters’ lives and stories were loosely interconnected by virtue of sharing an apartment block and frequenting the same launderette and park. It’s not as cosy a setting as a community library but still felt genuinely uplifting and heartwarming, and I loved the unexpected shout out to slow fashion!

Fatphobia isn’t as present as it is in WYALFIITL, although there are still a couple of low-key fatphobic comments.

I usually enjoy "quirky" books, particularly those translated from Japanese, but this one left me a bit cold. Comprising of interlinked short stories about the residents in a new apartment block, the main characters all discover Kabahiko, a model hippo in a children's playground, believed to have healing powers. Each one asks the hippo for help and the story then becomes a bit like a psychology essay or textbook as the people work through and conquer their issues thus improving their lives.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Tucked at the base of a modest five-storey apartment block is Hinode Park—a small playground often overlooked by passersby. But if you take a moment to look closer, you’ll notice a rather special statue: a slightly weather-worn concrete hippopotamus with upturned, soulful eyes. His name is Kabahiko. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t move, and yet for decades he’s been quietly supporting the emotional weight of an entire neighborhood.

In The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park, Michiko Aoyama (author of What You Are Looking For Is in the Library) once again brings together a cast of seemingly unrelated individuals, gently threading their lives together through one magical constant—in this case, a playground hippo. No one ever says Kabahiko is magical, but everyone who visits him seems to walk away a little changed.

Among those who find their way to Kabahiko are Kanato, a boy who once excelled in school and now presses his head against the hippo’s face, hoping to regain his lost spark; Sawa, a new and lonely mother seeking connection and a sense of identity; Chiharu, a wedding planner who’s forgotten how to truly listen to joy; Yuya, a boy faking an injury only to discover a deeper, real pain; and Kazuhiko, an aging editor whose eyes are failing but whose heart is just beginning to open to the beauty in the everyday.

Each of these characters find the hippo in moments of emotional exhaustion, doubt, or quiet despair. And although Kabahiko never responds, something about touching his sturdy back or resting beside him in silence allows a small shift to happen inside each of them. They begin to reflect, to remember, to reach out. It’s not so much magic in the traditional sense, but the quiet miracle of being seen—of believing something, or someone, might be listening.

The structure of the novel is reminiscent of a short story collection, with each chapter focused on a different character’s journey. However, the lives of the characters gently intersect, making the whole feel cohesive and interconnected. What I loved most is how the book feels universally relatable: the characters span all ages, from children to the elderly, and their struggles—loneliness, lost confidence, disconnection, burnout—are things many of us face at one point or another.

Aoyama has a gift for writing the kind of gentle, hopeful fiction that sneaks up on you and leaves you with a warm, full heart. There’s nothing loud or flashy here—just quiet wisdom, emotional truth, and deep kindness. The hippo might seem childish at first glance, but beneath its stone surface lies something deeply human: the longing to be healed, to be understood, and to move forward.

If you’re in need of a book that comforts and uplifts, this is a perfect pick. It’s a beautiful reminder that sometimes the answers we seek are already within us—we just need a moment of quiet, and maybe a hippo-shaped nudge, to unlock them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC!

I read this book in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down. I loved that it was lots of little stories all intertwined with each other but without it being confusing or convoluted.

Next to a quiet suburban apartment block is a seemingly ordinary playground known as Hinode Park. Within that playground sits a well-loved and slightly bemusing hippo—a very old children’s ride that locals affectionately refer to as Kabahiko. Legend has it that touching the hippo’s body can help to heal the same parts of yourself. Kabahiko is the center of this story.

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park is a collection of short stories that loosely connect via the park’s playground. Each chapter is dedicated to a different neighbor: Kanato, who wishes to regain his academic success; Sawa, a new mother searching for her place in the parenting community; Chiahru, a wedding planner who has partially lost her hearing; Yuya, a child who fakes a leg injury to avoid a race; and Kazuhiko, who is slowly losing his sight. Everyone in these stories is missing something, and so they turn to Kabahiko with a mix of skepticism, wonder, and most of all, hope. 

Through their stories, we are shown how the hippo’s simple and unassuming presence allows the characters to look at their lives through a different lens. It’s a comforting slice of life collection that examines complex emotions with a gentle hand. Told in first person, we’re given a short but intimate glimpse into these characters’ quirks and what draws them to Kabahiko. Spanning across generations and backgrounds, these stories are intertwined with a yearning for belonging and for understanding, as well as a community that makes the everyday into something special. 

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park is a relaxing and lovely read that will appeal to fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and The Kamogawa Food Detectives. The novel’s main theme of hope will wrap you up in its warm embrace and make you smile with every new life lesson. So, allow yourself to indulge in your whimsy for a while: Perhaps Kabahiko’s healing powers are real, or perhaps his company simply helps these characters to realize what is stopping them from healing. Either way, it doesn’t really matter what you choose to believe about him; The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park will always be there for you.

I expected lovely and that's exactly what I got. 5 interconnected short stories. Love reading on people looking for solutions form within and introspection. Beautiful insights into hope, self reflection, honesty,... 4.25

This is really feel good, cute and cozy book. It's about a hippo playground ride that has the legend of healing people and follows the people that live in the nearby apartment block. A lovely uplifting read with some gentle lessons about being better humans.

Kabahiko is an amazing hippo. People say that if you touch the area of his body that you want to make better on yours, he’ll provide a cure'

Nestling at the bottom of a five-storey apartment block is the children's playground, Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community.

I’m a huge fan of ‘What you are looking for is in the library’ and this is a fabulous cosy read that is in the same vein. Each chapter follows a different character who comes across the ‘healing’ hippo when they need it most.

More of a YA feel than its predecessor, it nevertheless is a cosy, easy read and if you are looking for something light and reflective, this is for you. It was a very pleasant read, but the ‘library’ still has stolen my heart ❤️

🌟🌟🌟

Thankyou to @netgalley for the chance to read this charming ARC

I really loved this book and will check out the previous one of which I was not aware. A delightful read, I hesitate to use the word heartwarming as I think that this often describes rather sickly books but this book really does lift the spirits. I felt connected to all the characters. Such a simple idea but a very powerful message. Heartily recommend to everyone

This one sadly missed the mark for me, what you are looking for is in the library was a favourite of mine so I expected to love this but I just wasn’t drawn to all of the story, there were elements that I enjoyed but it felt a little lost for me.