Before the Coffee Gets Cold (2015) By Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Tucked away in a quiet, narrow back alley of Tokyo is a quaint café called Funiculi Funicula, a place that seems unassuming at first glance but holds a magical secret. Within its cozy walls, patrons are offered the extraordinary opportunity to travel through time. However, this privilege comes with a long list of intricate rules, ensuring that the balance of time and reality remains undisturbed.
The rules of time travel at Funiculi Funicula are as peculiar as they are strict. First, there is only one seat in the entire café that allows time travel, and it is not always available. This seat is often occupied by a ghost—a mysterious figure who silently inhabits the café. Only when this spectral presence vacates the seat to take a rare bathroom break can a customer use it. Once seated, travelers must follow additional constraints: they cannot leave the chair once they’ve traveled back in time, and they can only interact with people who have previously visited the café. Moreover, any actions taken in the past will have no effect on the present—time is immutable. Finally, and most importantly, the traveler must return to the present before their cup of coffee grows cold, a limitation that imposes an unyielding time frame of roughly an hour.
The novel unfolds through the intertwined stories of the café staff, most notably the enigmatic barista Kazu, and four unique customers who each seek solace, closure, or answers through their temporal journeys.
The first story introduces Fumiko, a career-driven businesswoman grappling with heartbreak. Her boyfriend recently left Japan to accept a job in the United States, leaving her with a deep sense of regret over unspoken words. Desperate for a chance to mend her fractured relationship, Fumiko uses the café’s magical seat to revisit their final conversation. Yet, despite her efforts to change the outcome, she learns a poignant truth: while the past remains unchangeable, the act of confronting it can provide clarity and help her move forward.
Next, we meet Kohtake, a compassionate nurse married to a man battling Alzheimer’s disease. Her husband’s memory has eroded much of their shared history, and Kohtake yearns to retrieve a lost letter he once wrote to her. Through her journey to the past, she reconnects with the essence of their love, finding strength and understanding in the face of an uncertain future. The experience underscores the value of cherishing fleeting moments and holding onto love even as circumstances shift.
The third tale focuses on Hirai, a spirited bar owner with a fractured family bond. Hirai has spent years avoiding her younger sister, who consistently visits the café in an effort to reconcile. When tragedy strikes, Hirai decides to use the café’s unique time-traveling seat to revisit a pivotal moment with her sister. Through this emotional encounter, she confronts her guilt and learns the importance of confronting unresolved conflicts before it’s too late.
Finally, the novel delves into the life of Kei, one of the café’s co-owners. Kei is driven by a deep maternal instinct as she seeks to visit the future and connect with her unborn daughter. Her journey is a heart-wrenching exploration of hope, love, and sacrifice, shedding light on the choices people make for the ones they hold dear.
Through these four interconnected stories, the author weaves a profound narrative that explores the human desire to reconcile with the past while embracing the uncertainty of the future. Despite the rigid constraints of time travel—especially the rule that the present remains unchanged regardless of what transpired in the past—the café serves as a sanctuary where its patrons can confront their deepest regrets, find closure, and rediscover a sense of purpose.
The novel's overarching message is as moving as it is universal: while we cannot alter the past, we hold the power to shape the future. Every choice we make, every moment we embrace, carries the potential to lead us toward growth and fulfillment. The stories of Funiculi Funicula remind us that time is a precious, finite resource, urging us to live fully, love deeply, and face life’s challenges with courage.
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