In this fifth book in the sensational, cozy Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests: the father who could not allow his daughter to get married, a woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one, a boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents, and a wife holding a child with no name. They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold. Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in BEFORE WE FORGET KINDNESS our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on with their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.

The regulars at the magical Café Funiculi Funicula are well-acquainted with its famous legend and extraordinary time-travel offer. Many patrons have reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family and visited loved ones. But the journey is not without risks, and there are rules to follow. In the tradition of Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, readers once again will be introduced to a new set of visitors: the husband with something important left to say; the woman who couldn't bid her dog farewell; the woman who couldn't answer a proposal; and the daughter who drove her father away.

On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Café Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo café Funiculi Funicula, Café Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of traveling through time. Among some familiar faces from Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s previous novels, BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD and TALES FROM THE CAFÉ, readers also will be introduced to a daughter who begrudges her deceased parents for leaving her orphaned, a comedian who aches for his beloved and their shared dreams, a younger sister whose grief has become all-consuming, and a young man who realizes his love for his childhood friend too late.

In a back alley in Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than a hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee --- the chance to travel back in time. With faces both familiar and new, TALES FROM THE CAFÉ follows the story of four patrons who visit to take advantage of café Funiculi Funicula's time-traveling offer and revisit moments with family, friends and lovers. Each one must face up to the past to move on with their lives.

In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than a hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee --- the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.