Tales From the Cafe

Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Tales From the Cafe

Toshikazu Kawaguchi
41 pages1-hour read
Fiction
Novel
Adult
Published in 2017

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Kazu is a 28-year-old waitress at Funiculi Funicula who also teaches at a painting school. She bears the exclusive responsibility of pouring the magical coffee that transports patrons through time. Beneath her calm, emotionless exterior, she carries deep-seated guilt over a childhood incident that bound the café's resident ghost to the premises. She views her duties at the café as a form of penance, effectively trapping herself in a cycle of servitude and mourning.

Key Relationships

Secretly tied to Kaname

Relative and employee of Nagare Tokita

Relative of Miki Tokita

Acquaintance of Kyoko Kijima

Gohtaro is a devoted father who took on the responsibility of raising a young girl after her biological parents died. Originally struggling with bankruptcy, he built a life centered entirely around his adopted daughter. With her wedding approaching, he faces immense anxiety over his lifelong deception regarding her parentage, driving him to utilize the café's time-travel services to seek guidance from the past.

Key Relationships

Best friend of Shuichi Kamiya

Adoptive father of Haruka

Yukio is an aspiring potter who finds himself in dire financial straits after being conned by a supposed investor. He is estranged from his sister and missed his mother's final days in the hospital due to a lack of communication. Overwhelmed by his mounting debt and profound grief, he seeks out the café's magical chair to see his mother one last time.

Key Relationships

Son of Kinuyo

Estranged brother of Kyoko Kijima

Katsuki is a systems engineer who utilizes the café's magic in reverse, traveling from the past to the future. Following a devastating leukemia diagnosis that derailed his plans to propose, he orchestrates a complex plan to check on his former girlfriend's well-being years after his anticipated death. He uses his limited time to ensure the people he cares about are not trapped by sorrow.

Key Relationships

Former boyfriend of Asami Mori

Colleague and friend of Fumiko

Kiyoshi is an aging homicide detective working at the Kanda Police Station. He initially approaches the café with an investigator's mindset, observing patrons and taking notes in his black notebook to understand why people use a time-travel service that cannot change the present. Beneath his analytical exterior, he is a widower carrying thirty years of regret over a missed celebration that ended in tragedy.

Key Relationships

Widower of Kimiko

Acquaintance of Kazu Tokita

Supporting Characters

Nagare is the physically imposing owner of Funiculi Funicula and a devoted father. Despite his large stature, he is meticulous and takes immense pride in his craft, insisting on brewing specific mocha or Kilimanjaro beans using a precise dripper method. He balances the responsibilities of running a magical establishment with raising his young daughter as a single parent following his wife's death.

Key Relationships

Father of Miki Tokita

Relative and employer of Kazu Tokita

Widower of Kei

Miki is the outgoing, almost-seven-year-old daughter of the café's owner. Having lost her mother in childbirth, she grows up surrounded by the café's regulars and staff. She is highly theatrical, referring to herself as "moi" and bringing a vibrant, childlike energy to the otherwise quiet establishment. She eagerly awaits her seventh birthday, the age when female members of her family are permitted to pour the time-traveling coffee.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Nagare Tokita

Relative of Kazu Tokita

Daughter of Kei

Kyoko is a regular patron at Funiculi Funicula who identifies as a full-time wife and mother. She is highly inquisitive and openly affectionate toward the café staff, especially Kazu, whom her late mother taught in art classes. She carries a heavy emotional burden regarding her estranged brother, wishing she could mend their fractured relationship.

Key Relationships

Estranged sister of Yukio Mita

Daughter of Kinuyo

Acquaintance of Kazu Tokita

Kaname is the spectral woman in the white dress who haunts Funiculi Funicula. She occupies the one chair capable of time travel and only vacates it once a day to use the restroom. Having failed to finish her coffee before it grew cold during a trip to the past, she remains bound to the café. Her presence serves as both a constant reminder of the magic's strict rules and a source of silent sorrow for the staff.

Key Relationships

Secretly tied to Kazu Tokita

Shuichi is Gohtaro's former rugby teammate and a generous restaurant owner who died in a car accident twenty-two years ago. During his life, he was a stabilizing force for those around him, offering jobs and support to friends in need. When visited by an older Gohtaro, Shuichi quickly deduces the reality of his own fate and prioritizes his friend's emotional well-being over his own impending death.

Key Relationships

Best friend of Gohtaro Chiba

Biological father of Haruka

Kinuyo is the recently deceased mother of Kyoko and Yukio, and a former art teacher who once instructed Kazu. She suffered from a long illness before her death, choosing to keep her hospitalization a secret from her son to avoid worrying him. She possesses a deep emotional intelligence, understanding the true intentions of those who visit her from the future.

Key Relationships

Mother of Yukio Mita

Mother of Kyoko Kijima

Former teacher of Kazu Tokita

Asami is Kurata's former colleague and girlfriend. Having previously relied on his steady emotional support during a difficult pregnancy loss, she is blindsided by his secretive illness and subsequent death. She arrives at the café wearing a borrowed wedding ring, participating in an emotional confrontation orchestrated by her late partner.

Key Relationships

Former girlfriend of Katsuki Kurata

Friend of Fumiko

Fumiko is a systems engineer and a recurring patron of the café who previously utilized the time-travel service herself. Now happily married, she takes on the heavy burden of managing her colleague Kurata's final request. She weighs her loyalty to Kurata's dying wish against Asami's current emotional state.

Key Relationships

Colleague of Katsuki Kurata

Friend of Asami Mori

Wife of Goro

Kimiko is Kiyoshi's late wife, who died in a mugging outside the café three decades ago. On the day of her death, she waited for her husband to celebrate her birthday, misinterpreting his absence and recent distance as a sign of an impending divorce. She is thoughtful and attentive, having previously gifted her husband a distinct hunting cap.

Key Relationships

Late wife of Kiyoshi Manda

Haruka is Gohtaro's twenty-three-year-old adopted daughter. Orphaned at age one when her biological parents died in a crash, she was raised entirely by Gohtaro, oblivious to the fact that he is not her birth father. Her impending marriage acts as the catalyst for Gohtaro's crisis of conscience.

Key Relationships

Adopted daughter of Gohtaro Chiba

Biological daughter of Shuichi Kamiya

Kei is the deceased wife of Nagare and former fixture of the café. Though she passed away due to a chronic heart condition while giving birth to Miki, her legacy lives on through her daughter's joyful personality and the deep love her husband maintains for their family.

Key Relationships

Late wife of Nagare Tokita

Mother of Miki Tokita

Goro is Fumiko's partner, a character whose relationship was solidified following previous events at the café. He now serves as a supportive sounding board for Fumiko, offering her crucial advice when she agonizes over whether to tell Asami the truth about Kurata's plan.

Key Relationships

Husband of Fumiko