Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a tender and imaginative tale set in a quiet café in Tokyo—one with an extraordinary secret. Hidden in its cozy atmosphere lies a seat that allows customers to journey back in time. But the rules are strict: they must return before their coffee gets cold, and no matter what they do, the present cannot be changed.

Through a series of interconnected stories, the book explores the emotional journeys of individuals revisiting pivotal moments in their lives. There’s a woman hoping to confront a lover who left, a wife desperate to speak to her husband one last time, a sister mourning the loss of family, and a mother seeking closure with a daughter she never knew.

Kawaguchi’s storytelling is quietly profound—full of empathy, mystery, and wistful magic. The novel blends themes of time travel with rich emotional insight, posing questions about forgiveness, connection, and what we would do if given a brief moment to revisit the past.

Ideal for readers drawn to gentle fiction with philosophical undercurrents, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a lyrical reminder that while we can’t change the past, we can still find peace in understanding it.