BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD BY TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI: A RETROSPECTIVE

Blurb: In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’’s, see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .

Welcome to Funiculi Funicala, a cozy cafe tucked away in a quiet basement with three two-seater tables, one three-seater counter, a restroom, a backroom, and three ordinary people who hold the key to time travel. This simple, yet heartwarming story took the entire reading community by storm and gave immense popularity to the cozy Japanese stories. With the New Year 2026 drawing near, I would like to revisit this intriguing story that may not have resonated with me due to some of its conservative storytelling, but it did feel like a comforting and hopeful embrace due to its core message: You cannot change your past, but you can certainly learn from it to carve a meaningful present.

Time travel has always been a risky territory to explore, both in literature and pop culture. In most cases, it becomes a means to change one’s fate. In other cases, it’s about experiencing a new time period with its unique set of characteristics. But this book, and the series in general, focuses more on character growth and healing trauma than on making big changes. I think that is why this book resonated with so many people, even those who do not enjoy sci-fi and time travel.

Every love story has its own stages, and Kawaguchi explores the lives of three tragic duos that represent the different stages of a relationship. The stages he explores in particular are:

1. A young, ambitious couple looking to grow together in life and career. But sometimes even young lovers have to make difficult decisions for their relationship.

2. A married couple exploring the idea of growing their family amidst various challenges.

3. An older couple tackling ailments and choosing to stay together through thick and thin. There is also a heart-wrenching story of estranged siblings that raises some important questions about ego, ambition, and filial piety.

The cafe named Funiculi Funicala became famous for taking people back in time, but this opportunity came with many strings attached. The rules are:

1. Only one seat in the cafe holds the ability to time travel, and that seat is occupied by a mysterious ghost! So one must wait for her to vacate her seat for a short trip to the loo to sit on it.

2. When someone goes back in time, no matter how hard they try, the future doesn’t change.

3. A time traveller can only meet someone they’ve visited the cafe with.

4. A traveller cannot leave their seat, or they’ll be abruptly brought back to the present.

5. There is a time limit for the trip, as the traveller is expected to finish their coffee before it gets cold; otherwise, they risk dying and becoming a ghost!

Fumiko and Goro’s love story is put to test when Goro informs her of his plan to leave for America to pursue a job opportunity at his dream company. Disheartened by the turn of events, she decides to travel back in time to stop Goro from leaving, though she remains well aware that her actions will not change the future. Their story highlights the importance of healthy communication in a relationship, especially when one partner struggles with low self-esteem and harbours insecurities due to that. Fumiko’s time travel journey introduces an important theme that remains prevalent throughout the book: the cafe’s time-travel cannot change your past, but it can certainly influence how you navigate your future.

The second story focuses on Kohtake, a nurse, and her husband, Fusagi. Their relationship changes when Fusagi’s Alzheimer’s disease wipes away all memories of his wife. He knows he has a wife and that he is supposed to send an important letter to her, but there is one catch — he doesn’t know where to find her. Kohtake tries to find a silver lining in this situation by assuring herself that she can stay by her husband’s side as a nurse, even if Fusagi doesn’t remember her as his wife. But the knowledge of the mysterious letter ignites curiosity in her mind, prompting her to travel back in time to meet Fusagi before he lost his memory to ask for the letter. Her trip to the past strengthens her resolve to treat Fusagi like her husband, and not a patient, whether he remembers her or not.

Part three highlights the strained relationship between the two sisters with opposing personalities, Hirai and Kumi. Honestly, their story remains my favourite. I liked Kumi and Hirai’s dynamic when I read the book for the first time, and revisiting this story has made me fall in love with their bittersweet dynamic even more. Their conflict stems from their opposing personalities and belief systems clashing with the immense love they have for one another. Hirai’s parents wanted her to be an active part of the family business in the hospitality industry, but she chose a different path by leaving home and eventually opening up a bar. Her parents were disappointed, but Kumi did not give up on her beloved elder sister. She continued to pursue her with the intention to bring her back home to run the family business together, but Hirai misunderstood her intentions and believed that Kumi wanted to get rid of the responsibility and pursue dreams of her own. As a result, she started avoiding Kumi whenever she tried to talk to her. But Kumi’s unexpected demise fills Hirai with guilt and regret for not facing her sister and running away from confrontation. Filial piety is one of the core values in Confucian ethics, highlighting the importance of obedience and respect in a parent-child relationship. Hirai’s refusal to inherit the family inn challenges that virtue. Modern discussions surrounding this topic embrace a liberal perspective by highlighting the importance of individuality amongst youth, and gathering the courage to pursue a path driven by passion, instead of just living up to your parents’ expectations. But this story advocates for a more conservative idea of filial piety, which was quite interesting, though I didn’t like the narrative guilt-tripping Hirai for choosing her dreams. Hirai may have been one adamant woman who struggled with healthy communication, as she didn’t acknowledge Kumi’s efforts to bring her back. But she certainly wasn’t a bad person for carving an identity for herself outside of her family. But unfortunately, the narrative doesn’t acknowledge that, and that’s where the story gets a little uncomfortable for me. If the narrative was sugarcoating the conservative nature of his stories in parts one and two, it decides to be direct and a little brutal with the message in the final two stories. Well, of course, that isn’t the case because the themes Fumiko and Kohtake’s stories tackle aren’t as controversial in contemporary feminist debates compared to Hirai and Kei’s stories: a woman being ridiculed for choosing her dreams, and an expecting mother discarding her life.

Why does Kei disregard her well-being? The answers lie in the final story, as it focuses on Kei and Nagare’s bond. They are the owners of the cafe. This part of the book not only delves into their love story, but it also explores Kei’s dilemma that forces her to choose between her life and her unborn child due to complications in her pregnancy. She chooses her child. This decision brings guilt for Kei as she is aware that her choice implies that her child will grow up without her mother, and that giving birth will be the only thing she’ll be able to do for her child. Her love for the unborn child urges her to travel forward in time to meet her daughter! This story was emotionally charged, but it didn’t particularly tug at my heartstrings. There is nothing wrong with the writing itself, but the lack of Nagare’s perspective and the glorification of an explicit conservative theme felt a bit icky, to be honest.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It is well-written with fleshed-out characters, but its glorification of conservative themes in all four stories was a bit problematic for my taste.

Cozy and heartwarming, I would love to give this book a rating of 3.5/5!