The Travelling Cat Chronicles

A stray cat in Japan, who narrates much of the story, lives on the hood of a silver van in an apartment parking lot. He has two tabby spots on his forehead and a black, crooked tail. A tall young man named Satoru Miyawaki begins feeding him and leaving cat food under the van each night, and the two develop a comfortable acquaintanceship. When the cat is struck by a car and breaks his hind leg, he drags himself back to the van. Satoru finds him at dawn, rushes him to the vet, and nurses him for two months. As the cat prepares to leave, Satoru asks him to stay. The cat walks the neighborhood with Satoru, then meows at the door to be let in. Satoru names him Nana, after the number seven, because the crook in his tail resembles the Japanese character for that number. The name echoes that of Satoru's childhood cat, Hachi, named for the character for eight. Though Nana finds the name feminine, he accepts it. They live happily for five years until Satoru tells Nana he can no longer keep him. He loads Nana's basket into the silver van, and they set off to find Nana a new home.

Their first stop is the home of Kosuke Sawada, Satoru's childhood friend, who runs a photo studio. Kosuke's wife has left him after his domineering father made a cruel remark following her miscarriage, and Kosuke hopes adopting a cat might lure her back. Nana refuses to leave his basket and growls. Over coffee, the men reminisce about finding a box of abandoned kittens as second-graders. Kosuke discovered them first, but his father refused to let him keep one. Satoru devised a plan for them to run away together, which spiraled into a chaotic neighborhood chase that ended with the boys cornered on their school's rooftop. The kitten, Hachi, went to live with Satoru's family but was later killed in a traffic accident during Satoru's high-school years. Satoru gently tells Kosuke that adopting Nana would be an act of substitution for Hachi rather than a fresh start, and advises him to find a new cat with his wife. Nana agrees and allows Kosuke a farewell stroke. After they leave, Kosuke calls his wife and suggests they get a cat together.

Next, Satoru drives to visit Yoshimine, a blunt farmer and former junior-high classmate who runs his grandmother's farm. Yoshimine offered to take Nana because a mousing cat would be useful. He grabs Nana by the scruff to test his reflexes, shocking Satoru, and introduces Chatran, an orange tabby kitten he rescued who lacks hunting instincts. A flashback reveals that Yoshimine transferred to Satoru's school in his second year. Satoru befriended him immediately, and they revived the school's defunct gardening club. Yoshimine's grandmother grew deeply fond of Satoru. During summer break, Yoshimine's parents announced their divorce, and neither wanted custody of him; he returned to his grandmother and broke down crying with Satoru by his side. In the present, Nana secretly trains Chatran in fighting basics. When Satoru and Yoshimine return from visiting the grandmother's grave, Nana cues Chatran to puff up in a fighting stance, but the humans misread the display as hostility. Satoru concludes the cats are incompatible and takes Nana home. Nana reveals in narration that he orchestrated the conflict because he is not ready to leave the silver van. On the way home, Satoru takes Nana to see the ocean for the first time; Nana is terrified by the waves and scrambles onto Satoru's head.

The third visit is to a pet-friendly bed and breakfast near Mount Fuji, run by Satoru's high-school friends Shusuke Sugi and his wife Chikako. Sugi's dog, Toramaru, barks aggressively at Satoru. Momo, the household's elderly tabby, explains to Nana that Toramaru is picking up on Sugi's complicated feelings about Satoru. A flashback reveals that Sugi, Satoru, and Chikako became close friends after rescuing a dog from an irrigation ditch. Sugi had long been in love with Chikako, and when he sensed Satoru also liked her, he preemptively confessed his feelings to Satoru, not to seek advice but to ensure Satoru would step aside. Satoru did, and the guilt has haunted Sugi ever since. In the present, Nana slashes Toramaru's muzzle after a confrontation escalates, and Satoru decides to leave. Before driving off, Satoru casually tells Chikako he liked her in high school. She laughs it off. Later, Chikako tells Sugi she "definitely would have wavered" if two boys had liked her, which eases his guilt.

Satoru and Nana board a ferry to Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island. In the onboard pet room, a sharp-tongued white chinchilla silences the chattering dogs by observing that Satoru "gives off a smell that says he's not going to be around for long." After disembarking, they drive across vast landscapes. Nana marvels at fields of purple wild chrysanthemums and yellow goldenrod, swaying pampas grass, and horses in distant pastures. Satoru teaches Nana to distinguish shades of red using mountain-ash berries. They visit the graves of Satoru's parents and grandparents, arranging wildflower bouquets. Along the way, they witness a vivid double rainbow that Nana calls the most extraordinary sight of their journey.

They arrive in Sapporo, and the reason Satoru must give up Nana is finally revealed: He is terminally ill. His aunt Noriko, a former judge now working as a lawyer, has rented a pet-friendly apartment so Satoru can bring Nana. Noriko's backstory reveals that her older sister, Satoru's adoptive mother, raised Noriko after their parents died young, sacrificing her own education. Satoru was adopted as an infant after Noriko, then a young judge, presided over a case in which his birth parents were charged with attempted murder for abandoning him. Noriko's sister adopted the baby. After the sister and her husband died, Noriko bluntly told 12-year-old Satoru the truth about his adoption, a disclosure she has always regretted. She adopted Satoru herself, providing for him financially but struggling emotionally. On New Year's Day, Satoru tells Noriko he is grateful she told him the truth, because the knowledge made him realize how deeply his adoptive parents loved him.

As Satoru's condition worsens, he moves permanently to the hospital, turning Nana's basket against the wall so the cat cannot follow. When Noriko brings Nana for a visit, the cat escapes from the van and returns to life as a stray, surviving the harsh Hokkaido winter near the hospital so he can see Satoru daily on the terrace, just as when they first met.

After several snowy days, Satoru does not appear. Noriko arrives looking pale and asks the matron if she can bring the cat inside. The matron tells her not to ask, because then they would have to refuse, tacitly granting permission. Noriko scoops up Nana and carries him to Satoru's bedside. Satoru's eyelids open. Noriko places his hand on Nana's head. His lips move, and the heart monitor flatlines. Nana nuzzles Satoru's still hand. Noriko weeps, and Nana licks her fingers gently.

In the years that follow, Satoru's friends gather at Noriko's apartment to share stories. When Sugi asks why Satoru never told them he was sick, Yoshimine answers that Satoru wanted to say farewell with everyone still smiling. Kosuke converts his studio to pet photography. Noriko visits the Sugis' B&B with Nana, and the friends remain connected through shared loss. One day, Noriko brings home an abandoned calico kitten she names Calico, a choice Nana finds as uninspired as Satoru's naming habits. Nana begins training the kitten, determined to stay until she can survive on her own. In dreams, Nana visits Satoru in a field of purple and yellow flowers. He reflects that his story is ending but it is not something to be sad about: As one counts the memories from one journey, one heads off on another, trusting that someday everyone will meet again beyond the horizon.