The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kawaguchi, Toshikazu. Tales from the Café. Hanover Square Press, 2021.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi's novel Tales from the Café is written from the third person omniscient point of view. The narrative employs both the past and the present tenses, and shifts temporally throughout. The following summary presents a streamlined mode of explanation which mimics the overarching narrative structure.

In Chapter I, "Best Friends," after Gohtaro's daughter Haruka informed him that she was getting married, Gohtaro began to worry. Twenty-two years prior, Gohtaro had lied to Haruka. After her father, Gohtaro's best friend Shuichi and his wife died in a car accident, Gohtaro assumed Haruka's care. Instead of telling one-year-old Haruka the truth of her parents' identities and deaths, he told her he was her father and that her mother had died of an illness.

Realizing that Haruka would discover the truth of her parentage when she registered for marriage, Gohtaro felt guilty for betraying Shuichi and hurting Haruka with his deception. He therefore visited the mysterious Funiculi Funicula café, having heard that the establishment allowed customers to travel into the past.

During his visit to the café, Gohtaro traveled back in time in order to see Shuichi. When Shuichi learned the truth of what had transpired in the future, he urged Gohtaro to embrace happiness.

In Chapter II, "Mother and Son," after Yukio's mother Kinuyo died, he was overcome by despair. Throughout his life, Yukio devoted himself to making his mother happy. He especially wanted to make her proud by becoming an accomplished potter. In the wake of her death, Yukio felt as if his life had lost its meaning and purpose. He decided to visit Funiculi Funicula in order to see his mother when she was still alive. During his visit with Kinuyo, Kinuyo realized that Yukio planned on committing suicide. Per the café's time travel rules, if Yukio did not finish his coffee before it got cold, he would turn into a ghost, never return from the past, and therefore die. Kinuyo encouraged him not to give up in order to make her happy.

In Chapter III, "Lovers," when Kurata learned that he had leukemia and had less than a year to live, he made a plan to travel to the future. With the help of his friend Fumiko, Kurata traveled two years into the future, following his death. Per Kurata's elaborate scheme, Fumiko was to bring Kurata's lover Asami to the café to meet Kurata's past version of self. Kurata arranged the visit, desperate to know if Asami would be happy following his passing. Asami agreed to Fumiko's plan. She confessed to Fumiko that Kurata's death had devastated her and that she had been unable to imagine a happy future for herself since losing him. When she saw Kurata, however, she told Kurata that she was happy. Her lie was her attempt to let Kurata die peacefully, without concern for her well-being. Seeing Kurata also helped Asami understand that embracing happiness despite her loss was a way to honor Kurata's life and the love they shared.

In Chapter IV, "Husband and Wife," 30 years following his wife Kimiko's violent death, Kiyoshi decided to travel into the past to see her again. Like many others who visited the café, Kiyoshi had been unable to find happiness after losing the person he loved most in the world. Decades earlier, Kiyoshi failed to meet Kimiko at the café on the evening of her birthday. He had planned to tell her about his struggles at work and his desire to leave his job as a detective during their outing. At the last minute, he backed out of the meeting, fearing that Kimiko would be angry with him. While on her way to meet her husband, Kimiko was involved in a mugging, and killed. Kiyoshi blamed himself for not being there to protect her.

When Kiyoshi returned to the past, he and Kimiko made amends. They were able to communicate their complicated emotions to one another, clarifying the difficulties in their relationship.

When Kiyoshi returned to the present, he felt a new lightness of being. He informed the café server Kazu that she should also embrace happiness and renewal as a way to honor her late mother, whom she was still grieving.