Before We Forget Kindness: The most emotional book yet in the sensational Tokyo cafe series

Just finished "Before We Forget Kindness" by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. This book is the fifth book of the novel series "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" . For those who haven't read the previous four books of the series, this series is about a mysterious cafe in Tokyo, Japan where customers can time travel. There are some strict rules which the customers need to follow like, returning before the coffee gets cold, meeting only those people in the past or future who have visited the cafe atleast once in their lives, among others. Though the reality cannot be changed no matter what, you can still feel satisfaction in the thought that you could go back/forward in time and do or say whatever you wanted to. The book focuses on heartwarming stories about love, loss, forgiveness and regret with a mix of joy and longing. The book is known for its gentle and emotional storytelling. It is also very easy to read. The author very deftly manages to touch the emotional chord of the readers through his poignant and moving take on time travel. The author not only talks about the lives of the customers visiting the cafe for time travel but also about the lives of the owner and the staff of the cafe and how they get connected to each and every customer approaching them for time travel in a very beautiful and heartwarming way. The book gives a very powerful message through its touching depiction of time travel. There are people in our lives whom we hurt sometimes knowingly or sometimes unintentionally without understanding their point of view and realising that we might never see that person again. When we realise, sometimes it's too late and we have to live with that feeling of regret the rest of our lives. There are times when a loved one hurts us and we never recover from that pain. We cut them off our lives and that hurt lingers within us a long time. We never heal. But we can't move on either. Sometimes, we don't realise that the other person might have had a valid reason for their behavior towards us and we might have just misunderstood them. We want to listen, forgive and reconcile with them but sometimes, it's too late and we lose them forever. There are times, when we have loved someone and did not have the courage to confess our feelings to that special person. Time passed, we moved on, but that regret still lingered in our heart without knowing what would have happened if you had just gathered the courage and confessed. And we live with that forever. So please, if you love someone, tell them without worrying about the consequences. If you have hurt someone and realised your fault, please apologise to them and ask for their forgiveness. Please forgive a loved one and move on. Please don't leave anything unsaid and undone. Please be kind, please love wholeheartedly, please apologise and please forgive and reconcile when there's time. Because, unlike the book, we cannot go back in time and act/say what we wanted to even if for our own satisfaction in our real life.

"If kindness is a light, then its glow is often brightest in the darkness of regret." The Before the Coffee Gets Cold series has been a source of quiet reflection and emotional depth for me. With the fifth installment, we are welcomed back to the familiar yet mysterious café Funiculi Funicula in Tokyo. The café continues to be a sanctuary for individuals looking to journey through time inside its space, bound by its steadfast rules and the always-hot cup of coffee. In this instance, we encounter four people, each bearing their loads of unheard thoughts and unmet desires: A dad who struggles to give his approval to his daughter’s wedding. A woman who laments not expressing her affection with a small gesture—offering chocolates on Valentine’s Day. A young boy yearning to display his smile to his separated parents. A mother cradling her unnamed child, longing for solace and resolution. As usual, the book transcend mere time travel, focusing instead on human bonds, feelings, and the subtle power of compassion. The novel explores in more depth the concepts of acceptance, forgiveness, and the strength of releasing. Although the narratives adhere to a comparable format to the earlier volumes, they come across as novel and profoundly impactful. Every character's path serves as a mirror to our own existence—our regrets, our lost chances, and the optimism that propels us onward. I especially valued how this book provided further insight into the mysterious café and its owner, Kazu. Her calm resilience and profound compassion ground the narratives, illustrating that at times, kindness represents the most potent expression of love. The rules and setup’s repetitive quality may seem familiar, yet for me, it offered a soothing rhythm—a reminder that life, akin to time, has its certainties. This book, like the rest of the series, emphasizes living in the moment and expressing our love and gratitude before it’s too late. It’s a gentle nudge to cherish the people around us and to approach life with kindness, even when it’s hard. If I were to sum up my feelings, I’d say this: Before We Forget Kindness isn’t just a book; it’s a warm cup of coffee on a cold day, offering solace and hope.

5th book in and it seems the author still has some takes left to be told about our beloved cafe , it's owners and the people who come to visit. A great book talking about human emotions and stories that are bound to touch your heart ❤️❤️.

I just received Before We Forget Kindness this morning (ordered yesterday with Prime – love the one-day delivery 🚚✨). The book came neatly packed and is in good condition overall, apart from a few very minor scratches on the cover. Nothing major, just cosmetic. Flipping through the pages, everything seems intact and in full - though since I haven’t read it yet, I can’t confirm 100% that no pages are missing. The print looks clear, and the binding feels solid in hand. I first came across this title because so many people online were recommending it, and the premise intrigued me enough to finally pick it up. I’m really looking forward to diving into it soon and seeing what the hype is about. This review is just for unboxing/initial impressions, I’ll update with my thoughts on the actual content once I’ve finished reading. For now, happy with the purchase and excited to start the journey! 📖✨

I mean it's the fifth book of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD book series. The author once again succeeded to make me cry. I'm always surprised how the author is able to portray every kind of relationships in a such a manner that it makes you appreciate the relationships and the situation of the people around you. IM YET TO FIND ANOTHER BOOK OR SERIES THATS GONNA BEAT THIS ONE FOR ME.

The book made me smile after I finished reading it. Never expected a Japanese story to be so relevant.

Emotional and heart warming

Good

Loved reading the book. Heart warming stories. Narration is beautiful. The last chapter is a different English. Sometimes I was losing interest because this type of English was hard to understand. Otherwise it’s really a lovely stories which definitely got me tears in every chapter

Love it! have read them all!

Reading Before We Forget Kindness felt like returning to a familiar, comforting place. Once again, the story brought me back to the magical Tokyo café where people can revisit the past as long as they return before their coffee gets cold — a concept I’ve always found both calming and deeply moving. In this book, I followed four new characters, each carrying their own emotional weight: a father struggling with his daughter’s upcoming marriage, a woman with feelings she never expressed, a boy wanting to connect with his divorced parents, and a wife holding a child without a name. Their stories felt surprisingly relatable, and I found myself reflecting on my own relationships as I read. What really stood out during my reading experience was how gentle and thoughtful the storytelling felt. The themes of memory, forgiveness, and kindness lingered with me long after I closed the book. Even when the narrative touched on heavier topics, it still offered an uplifting sense of closure and hope. Final thoughts: If you enjoy emotional, reflective books or you’ve loved the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, this one is absolutely worth reading. It left me warm, thoughtful, and genuinely grateful for its quiet reminders about kindness and second chances.

Consiglio vivamente questo libro a tutti coloro che , come me, hanno deciso di dare una svolta alla propria alimentazione. Il libro è scritto molto bene ed è di immediata comprensione. Offre parecchio spunti di riflessione su come seguire un regime equilibrato introducendo ogni giorno cibi sani rendendoli più appetibili attraverso qualche piccolo accorgimento.

Yet again the author has produced another wonderful collection of tales that manage to make one smile or cry or both. If you have read the previous books you should know what you are getting, if you haven't then best read them first, it's four emotional and thoughtful stories built round a time travel scenario. This series though is very much not science fiction, personally I don't think the ' science ' and logic of the time travelling within the book holds up to scrutiny, but there again it doesn't in the real world either whether you believe time is linear, non-linear, single point, artificially created or simply an illusion, it's impossible, proved by the simple fact that no-one from the future has come back in time . But I digress. A common complaint about the previous books is the " repetition " of things such as the ' rules ' of travelling and it is here that I personally think people misunderstand the stories. I feel like the stories are individual plays (I am possibly influenced by the author being a playwright) and the repeating of the rules is treated differently and the reactions are subtly different. I find each character is written and expresses in very individual ways, kind of similar in a way to Ulysses by James Joyce but without the complexity ( and no, I still haven't managed to get through to the end of Ulysses, much to my shame ). So here's my summary Wonderful book, at least equal to the others. Very emotional, usually ' feel good ' in nature. Read it, love it and keep an eye out for number six! Finally, why shouldn't Kazu deserve happiness??