Days at the Torunka Café is the first episodic slice-of-life novel set in and around the titular cafe and the people who inhabit it, written by Satoshi Yagisawa and translated by Eric Ozawa. First published in Japanese in 2013, this English language translation was released 4th Nov 2025 by HarperCollins on their Harper Perennial imprint. It's 240 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is such a warm and whimsical story, entirely character driven. It meanders, often touchingly, through the daily lives, dreams and hopes of the characters and their interactions with one another. It's indelibly Japanese in its sensibilities, culture, and grammar. It does read as though it's literature in translation (in this case that's not a bad thing). The translation work is competent and seems true to the original text. This is the same author as the Morisaki Bookshop books, and the setting is (slightly) different, but the vibe is the same. It's a cozy, enveloping, escapist read.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours and is capably read by Sadao Ueda. He has a warm light baritone voice, well modulated and pleasant to listen to. The sound and production quality are high throughout.
Four stars. It's a delightful very short read. Quite a lot of story, without conflict or action. A relaxing and delightful experience. This would make a great choice for public or school library acquisition, book club discussion, or home library.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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