Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

After her call with Satoru, Takako speaks with her mother, who asks if she will go help Satoru at the bookshop, or come home. Takako arrives in Jimbocho and meets Satoru. She realizes that he is older than she expected, not having seen him since her youth. When they walk into the shop, Takako is shocked by the smell of old books and says it smells “musty” (12). Satoru laughs and explains that the shop houses 6,000 books, all of which are used.

Satoru brings Takako upstairs to see her new room, overflowing with books. Takako spends her day moving the books to a spare room, finally making enough space to inhabit the main room and kitchen. Satoru asks her to open the shop the next morning. 

Takako wakes up late, rushing downstairs to open the store. She waits for hours before any customers visit. In the early afternoon, an older man comes in. When he discovers that Takako does not read, he laments how disengaged young people are from literature.

When Satoru returns, Takako asks about the man. Satoru explains that the man, Sabu, is a regular customer. Sabu comes in for conversations and to be friendly. When Takako questions how the store is able to make money with so few customers, Satoru explains that they sell rare books online. Before they close the shop, Satoru suggests Takako take up reading. Takako laughs him off.

Over the coming days and weeks, Takako sleeps as much as she can to distract herself from the pain of losing her relationship and job. Though she wakes up on time to open the store, she leaves and sleeps as soon as Satoru arrives and takes over. He expresses concern for Takako, suggesting she take walks. Takako sleeps at least 13 hours a day, sometimes more, rarely coming out of her room. She hates being awake, haunted by Hideaki.

One day, while Takako lies in bed, Satoru interrupts her to invite her on a walk. Satoru brings her to a nearby café, Saveur. Satoru introduces Takako to the waitress, Tomo, and Takano, a boy who works in the kitchen. The pair of workers are close to Takako in age, and she takes a quick liking to them. She also finds the owner friendly, and is amazed to see her uncle socialize with everyone for hours.

Takako enjoys herself at Saveur, and on their walk home, she thinks of the time she spent with Satoru when she was younger. She thought he was weird, but now, looking back, she finds that there was joy in their close relationship. When she asks what he did at her age, Satoru explains that he travelled a lot, trying to find himself. Despite his resistance to taking over the shop, the bookshop was the right place for him and he eventually found his way home. Takako asks Satoru why his wife, Momoko, left him. He explains that they were on different journeys, and that though he loves her, he accepts their split.

That night, Takako cannot sleep. To pass the time, she grabs a random book, Until the Death of the Girl by Saisei Murō. Though Takako hopes the book will bore her to sleep, she finds herself enthralled with it and reads until morning. The next day, she tells Satoru how much she loved the book. Soon, Takako is reading every day, finding new authors on every shelf. Her new obsession with reading forces her to look at life differently, and she stops wasting her days sleeping. She loves finding other readers’ notes in the margins of pages and even begins taking walks around the neighborhood.

Takako becomes a regular at Saveur and spends time with Tomo. Tomo is also a reader, and when Takako shows Tomo her room above the Morisaki Bookshop, Tomo loves it. Takako also develops a relationship with Takano, who one day comes into the bookshop and asks Takako to help him win Tomo’s heart. Takako is shy and barely speaks to Tomo, but Takano loves her. Takako agrees. She begins feeding Takano information about Tomo and her favorite things, but Takano still won’t approach Tomo. When Tomo asks Takako if she wants to join her at the upcoming used book festival in the neighborhood, Takako agrees and sees an opportunity for Takano.