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Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a Japanese novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi about a Tokyo café, Funiculi Funicula, where customers can travel through time under strict rules.

By Ethan Anderson| Reviewed by Olivia Bennett, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead| Updated July 27, 2026|2 min read| Fact-checked

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a Japanese novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi about a Tokyo café, Funiculi Funicula, where customers can travel through time under strict rules. First published in Japanese in 2015, it became an internationally translated bestseller and the first book in a series focused on time travel, memory, and human relationships.

Premise

The novel centres on a Tokyo café that allows visitors to briefly travel through time. The time-travel rules are limited: a person must sit in a specific seat, cannot change the present, and must finish the journey before the coffee cools.

Publication history

Before the Coffee Gets Cold was first published in Japanese in 2015 and later translated into English in 2019 by Geoffrey Trousselot. The story originated as a play before being adapted into a novel.

Themes

The book focuses on regret, grief, reconciliation, and personal closure rather than changing history. Its structure uses the time-travel premise to explore how people respond to unresolved relationships and missed chances.

Series

The novel launched the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. Later books expanded the same café setting and time-travel concept into additional interconnected stories.

Key facts

  • The story is set almost entirely in the basement café Funiculi Funicula in Tokyo.
  • A special chair in the café allows time travel, but only under strict conditions.
  • Travellers must return before their coffee gets cold, and the present cannot be changed.
  • The novel is structured around interconnected character stories.
  • It originated as a play before being adapted into a novel.
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Canadian context

The novel has been available in English in Canada and has readers there as part of its wider international popularity.

Frequently asked questions

What is Before the Coffee Gets Cold?
It is a Japanese fantasy novel about a Tokyo café where customers can travel through time under strict rules.
Who wrote Before the Coffee Gets Cold?
It was written by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
When was Before the Coffee Gets Cold published?
It was first published in Japanese in 2015. The English translation was published in 2019.
What is the café called in the novel?
The café is called Funiculi Funicula.
Can characters change the past in the story?
No. The story’s time travel does not change the present.
What are the main time-travel rules?
The traveller must use a specific seat, stay seated, return before the coffee gets cold, and can only interact within the story’s limited time-travel conditions.

References

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_the_Coffee_Gets_Cold
    Supports: Basic publication details, author, original language, play-to-novel history, English translation information
  2. Pan Macmillan — https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/before-the-coffee-gets-cold-guide
    Supports: Series context, time-travel premise, rules of the café, international bestseller status
  3. LitCharts — https://www.litcharts.com/lit/before-the-coffee-gets-cold/summary
    Supports: Setting, café name, time-travel rules, story framework
  4. GradeSaver — https://www.gradesaver.com/before-the-coffee-gets-cold/study-guide/summary
    Supports: Setting and overall structure of the novel
  5. Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44421460-before-the-coffee-gets-cold
    Supports: General description, four-part structure, café premise