Chapter 1 establishes the setting of the novel. Except for flashbacks and other elements of backstory, the entire narrative takes place inside the café. The interior is simple but with a few notable oddities:

The earthen plaster walls were a subdued tan color, much like kinako, roasted soya flour, with a hazy patina of age—this place looked very old—spread across every surface […] the entire lighting was noticeably tainted with a sepia hue (16).

The description creates a physical representation of the café’s link to both the past (its “hazy patina” of age and sepia-colored lighting) and its specific Japanese context (“kinako”). As a meeting point between people from the past and future, the café exists outside of linear time. In addition to the broader café setting, Gohtaro notices the chair from which he plans to travel to the past in particular: “Inspecting it up close, he saw it was a simple seat with nothing out of the ordinary about it. The chair had elegantly curved cabriole legs, and its seat and back were upholstered with a pale moss-green fabric” (40). This passage indicates a contrast between the fact that the chair appears ordinary and its ornateness and antique nature. Overall, the setting echoes the blend between the everyday and the magical throughout the novel.

The narrative is written in a third-person omniscient point of view, and the narrator has access to all of the characters’ thoughts simultaneously. However, Tales from the Café is a unique use of this type of point of view because the characters’ thoughts appear only sparingly. Due to Kawaguchi’s experience writing plays, the novel is very theatrical and features dialogue, action, and stage direction to convey most of the narrative. Similarly, Kawaguchi uses lyrical language and metaphor sparingly throughout the text, and when these literary devices are used, they are particularly notable due to their rarity. In Chapter 1, Kawaguchi uses a metaphor when Gohtaro asks Kazu about why the woman in white didn’t finish her coffee: “He asked purely out of interest. But his question turned Kazu’s face into a Noh mask, and for the first time he found her expression unreadable” (49). Noh is a type of Japanese dance theatre in which the performers wear masks. Therefore, this metaphor suggests that Kazu’s emotions are so intense that she masks them to appear unreadable. Noh is also an ancient type of performance art that dates back to the 14th century, and Noh masks often depict supernatural characters like ghosts. This metaphor further roots the idea of the café as a place outside of time and the normal rules of the world. Soon after, Kawaguchi also provides a vivid and lyrical description of Kazu pouring Gohtaro’s coffee: “[S]he moved with an impenetrable beauty, as if she was performing a solemn ritual […] The coffee that filled the vessel resembled a pitch-black shadow” (51). This description emphasizes The Importance of Ritual, and the juxtaposition of pouring coffee—a quotidian action—with its result—time travel—emphasizes the dichotomy between the everyday and the magical.

The novel features an ensemble cast rather than a clear-cut protagonist. Each chapter focuses on one character’s decision to travel through time, so that individual functions as the central character for their chapter. The café staff and other regulars appear throughout the novel periodically. Kazu is the most protagonistic character in Tales from the Café because she undergoes a sustained and clear arc throughout the novel. One effect of the ensemble cast is that Kawaguchi characterizes individuals gradually as they reappear in different sections of the novel (and from the first novel in the series to this one). This gradual characterization also creates suspense and increases the impact of certain plot points. For example, Kazu is an intriguing character in Before the Coffee Gets Cold primarily because she is responsible for pouring the coffee that transports people through time. However, it is not until Tales from the Café that her situation is revealed in more detail: She is the woman in white’s daughter, and she holds herself responsible for her mother’s death. Kawaguchi achieves much of this characterization through dialogue and other characters’ thoughts. For example, Gohtaro thinks, “Based on how Kazu treated Miki, Gohtaro deduced, This waitress is not the girl’s mother. He could also sympathize with how Nagare was struggling to handle a girl of this age” (44). Rather than using exposition or backstory to clarify the relationships among characters, Kawaguchi shows a character who doesn’t know them speculating about them. The effect is that relationships and character traits are revealed gradually, allowing space for one to wonder about and then understand different aspects of the cast of characters.

This section of the novel also introduces a major topic in the novel: the relationships between parents and children. Gohtaro’s thoughts about his right to be Haruka’s father and his guilt over not telling her the truth about Shuichi emphasize the complexity of parent-child relationships. Gohtaro’s interaction with Shuichi in the past also introduces the theme of Happiness as a Choice, in contrast to Gohtaro’s belief that he is sacrificing his happiness to tell the truth. Shuichi asserts that the two are not mutually exclusive, a thread that emerges in other subplots as well. Alongside Gohtaro’s father-daughter relationship, dynamics between Nagare, Miki, and Kazu show daily interactions between children and their parents or elders. Kazu is Kaname’s daughter, though the details of this relationship have not yet been revealed. Similarly, Miki shows that she is eager to grow up and take on some responsibility, but the adults in her life believe that she isn’t ready. As the novel progresses, Miki eventually steps into her role as the coffee pourer, continuing her family’s legacy.