Seasons of Stories Book Club August 23 Meeting #3

AUGUST 2025 BOOK SELECTION

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

by: Tashikazu Kawaguchi

In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee–the chance to travel back in time.

Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.

Prepare to 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 Alzheimer’s, see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

Heartwarming, wistful, mysterious and delightfully quirky, Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s internationally bestselling novel explores the age-old question: What would you change if you could travel back in time?

ORDER THE BOOK HERE

Seasons of Stories is a new book club at Shinzen Garden that invites readers to gather in the natural setting of the garden to explore literature inspired by Japanese culture and explore books from Japanese American authors.  We will be diving into a thoughtfully selected book each month and enjoy meaningful conversations surrounded by the beauty of the garden. All are welcome—bring your curiosity and love for stories!

Join our online club by scanning the QR Code