10 October 2025
Tales From The Cafe Review With 21 Book Club Questions
Reviewed by: Melissa Ng
Quick Facts
Book Publication Date: 14 March 2017
How I Read It: eBook on Libby – borrowed from my local library
Where You Can Find Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Amazon* | Kobo US* | Kobo Canada*
| Libro.fm*
Content & Trigger Warnings: Death, death of a parent, car accident, grief, suicidal ideation, terminal illness, death of a spouse
Tales From The City Summary
Tales From The Cafe is the second book in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
Set once again in the small, hidden cafe in a Tokyo back alley, this follow-up introduces four new stories of people who want to travel back in time — but only within strict rules and only while the coffee stays warm.
Each person visiting the cafe has something unresolved:
- A best friend who died young
- A parent they couldn’t say goodbye to
- A lost love
- A gift left undelivered.
The heart of the book is the same: people working through grief, regret, and the longing to connect, even if nothing in the present can be changed.
The time travel is still limited, the coffee still needs to be finished before it goes cold, and the seat is still haunted by a ghost. But we also learn more about the people who work at the cafe and some of the strange rules behind its magic.
If you liked the quiet, emotional stories of the first book, this one brings a little more depth to the setting while continuing the same structure.
Tales From The Cafe Review
After reading Before The Coffee Gets Cold, I had a better idea of what to expect going into this one.
In many ways, Tales From The Cafe follows the same format and hits a lot of the same notes. The writing is still very simple, almost like a translated screenplay, and the emotional beats are front and centre.
I gave it 3 stars — not because it was bad, but because I didn’t really connect with any of the new characters or stories as much as I hoped. Still, it was a nice palette cleanser between heavier books.
What I Liked:
✔️ More world building: One of the things I was curious about going into book 2 was whether we’d learn more about the cafe itself or the people who work there. I liked the little bits of new information we got — like who’s allowed to pour the coffee and what happens when they become pregnant. There’s something oddly comforting about getting to know this small cast of recurring characters a bit better.
✔️ Short and easy read: At just under 200 pages, this was a fast and breezy read. Even though the stories deal with big emotional topics like death and grief, the tone is gentle, and it never felt overwhelming. It’s the kind of book that’s good to slot in between longer reads when you need something low-effort but still thoughtful.
What I Didn’t Love:
❌ Repetitive rules: Even though this is the second book in the series, the time travel rules are explained again and again in each story. I get that it’s part of the structure, but it started to feel repetitive and slowed down the emotional momentum.
❌ Limited time with the travellers: Because so much time was spent rehashing the rules, we didn’t get as much time with the people actually travelling through time. I found it harder to connect to their stories compared to book one. I think the emotional payoff would’ve been stronger if we’d had a bit more time with each character.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I think if you liked Before The Coffee Gets Cold, it’s worth continuing with Tales From The Cafe.
It’s more of the same, with a few small additions to the world and a quiet, reflective tone.
I didn’t love this one as much, but I still appreciate what the series is doing. I’ll be continuing on with Before Your Memory Fades to see how it all unfolds.
Tales From The Cafe Book Club Questions
- What were your favourite and least favourite moments in the book?
- Did you have a particular story that you liked the most or the least?
- Was there a certain character you connected with?
- Do you have a favourite recurring character?
- Do you think time travelling and talking to their loved ones helped the travellers in this book?
- If you were given the chance, would you visit the cafe?
- Would you travel to the past or the future? And who would you visit?
- Did you learn anything new about the rules and mechanics of time travel?
- Why do you think the coffee pourers lost their ability once they became pregnant?
- Is there any significance to the 7 years of age rule on the coffee pourers?
- If you could change the rules, what rules would you impose?
- Do you think it was difficult for Kazu to come to work every day and see her mother as a ghost?
- Who do you think the new ghost is?
- Would this book have worked in a different setting?
- How do you think this book explores the topics of grief and regret?
- Do you think the travellers would be able to move on without time travelling and speaking to their loved ones?
- What did you think of the length of the book? Was it too short or just right?
- Have you read any other Japanese literature?
- What’s your go-to cafe order?
- How would you rank Tales From The Cafe compared to Before The Coffee Gets Cold?
- If Tales From The Cafe was adapted into a movie or TV series, which actors would you cast for each character?
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