Days at the Torunka Café
by Satoshi Yagisawa
Translated from Japanese by Eric Ozawa
Ordinary people, steady sorrow, and the slow work of learning how to keep going.
Out: November 4, 2025
Published By: Harper Perennial and Paperbacks | Harper Perennial
This story reminds you that you don’t always know what is going on in another person’s life. Days at the Torunka Café is told through three connected stories, each marked by sadness and a small pull toward hope. When the book closes, life goes on for everyone inside it.
The café sits on a side street in Tokyo, a place where people come and go, and the smell of coffee seems to hold everything together. A woman folds napkins into tiny ballerinas. A man searches for the version of himself he left behind. A girl faces her sister’s death and the first stirrings of love. None of them are extraordinary, but each is trying to move forward in their own way.
What stayed with me is how these stories don’t chase resolution. The first ends with two people who might find happiness but still have to keep growing. The second finds care between a man and a young woman who are not family, and the result is understanding, not a fix. The third follows a girl learning how to live with her grief, knowing it doesn’t simply disappear.
It reminded me of how the people around us drift in and out of our days. My neighbor who stops to talk while I water the plants. The person who remembers your usual order without asking. Their stories touch yours for a moment, even if you never know all the details. Days at the Torunka Café captures that feeling, the small, steady connections that make life feel real.
If you liked Soyangri Book Kitchen, you’ll probably connect with this one too. They share the same rhythm, the same balance of sadness and warmth, and a sense that being seen, even for a moment, matters.
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Set the Mood
☕ Ceramic Tokyo Café Mug – for your morning read and quiet starts.
📖 Linen Notebook – to jot down favorite lines or small reflections.
🌿 Jasmine Tea Sampler – soothing, fragrant, perfect for slow reading days.
🕯️ Soft Light Candle – to bring a bit of that café calm home.
🪞 Reading Glasses Case – simple and useful for travel or your nightstand.
If You Liked This Book, You Might Like
Soyangri Book Kitchen by Kim Jee Hye — a healing story set in a South Korean book café.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi — a Tokyo café where moments linger in time.
The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa — the author’s earlier work, another quiet corner of connection and hope.
