From the bestselling, International Booker-shortlisted author of Strange Weather in Tokyo, this polyphonic story of love and friendship on the outskirts of Tokyo takes readers into a neighborhood like any other, yet full of unforgettable characters—by turns funny, wise, and heartrending.

Take the train from central Tokyo and head east. In twenty minutes, hop off and here you are: far from anywhere, but right in the heart of everything. Here, you'll meet a widowed fishmonger who invites his dead wife's former lover to move in, a fortune teller who helps a friend down on his luck, a young woman who learns her mother-in-law's secret over a late night snack of tea and rice crackers, and, at the local restaurant, the cook and the server whose on/off relationship might be back on.

From one of Japan's most celebrated writers, this charming, character-rich meander through a small, seemingly average community becomes a quiet, profound meditation on connection and attachment, loneliness and loss, life and all its ephemera.