The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
“When we get stuck at a certain point, the first thing we must do is get to know ourselves. Don’t we check a map when we lose our way and come to a standstill?”
The Full Moon Coffee Shop is exactly that kind of story.
The café has no fixed address. It appears suddenly — in a shopping arcade, at the final stop of a train line, or in a quiet river valley. Always when the moon is full. There is no menu to choose from — this is a place that somehow knows what you need. It serves drinks and desserts tailored to longings, fears, and things we haven’t yet learned how to name. The waiters are… cats. Quiet, attentive, never intrusive. They help visitors look inward — sometimes through conversation, sometimes through symbols, sometimes through silence. All of this is wrapped in a gentle magic of everyday life: astrology, lunar cycles, fortune-telling, slipping between worlds — but handled with great delicacy and restraint.
Why did I reach for this book?
I read it during a difficult period in my life — full of tension, overwhelming work, and negative upheavals. I needed something warm and soothing, a story that wouldn’t add weight but would allow me to breathe for a moment. This book is exactly that.
It doesn’t delve into the deepest traumas or force grand analyses. It doesn’t try to take life apart piece by piece. Instead, it gently encourages self-acceptance, mindfulness, and doing good — without moralizing, without pressure, without the sense that something must be “fixed” immediately. Rather, it softly familiarizes us with the ideas of self-acceptance and karma.
Although the author uses zodiac signs and lunar phases, the message of the story has nothing to do with literal horoscopes. It’s a language of metaphor leading to universal truths. One of them is especially close to my heart and something I’ve believed in for years — the principle of karma. Good returns, but our negative actions can return as well, often at the most difficult and inconvenient moments in our lives.
“In this world, the mirror principle applies: everything you do is reflected and comes back to you.”
But how do we tell what is good from what harms us? The answer is simple, though not easy — we must get to know ourselves. I was deeply moved by the recurring metaphor of a map in this book: when we are stuck and don’t know how to move forward, the first thing we must do is figure out where we are.
“When we get stuck at a certain point, the first thing we must do is get to know ourselves. Don’t we check a map when we lose our way and come to a standstill?”
When we truly begin to understand and accept ourselves — both our strengths and our weaknesses — life becomes calmer and more coherent.
“Understanding yourself is connected to taking care of yourself. If you do that, your star will begin to shine.”
But caring for yourself doesn’t mean being strong, brave, and ‘put together’ all the time. Quite the opposite — this book gives permission for vulnerability, for tears, for stopping.
“You’ve never cried, have you? But when things are hard, when we suffer, we need to cry. That’s how water works: it washes everything away.”
I believe one of the book’s most important messages — and one we often forget — is a simple yet difficult truth: without accepting and liking ourselves, it’s hard to truly accept and like others.
“To have a big heart for others, you also need to indulge yourself a little. Moreover, it’s unhealthy to confine yourself within narrow frames of reason that you create for yourself while ignoring emotions. They need to be released and accepted.”
🐾 Who is it for?
For readers who enjoy calm, comforting stories with a gentle touch of magic. For cat lovers — yes, they really do matter here. For those who find themselves in a moment of pause, transition, or quiet exhaustion, when something soft yet genuine is needed. And finally, for anyone who feels the desire to live more on their own terms, even if they’re not yet sure how to name that path or where to begin.
✨ A few words at the end
The Full Moon Coffee Shop is not a book you “devour.” It’s a book you read slowly — as if you were sitting late at night at a small table, a warm cup in your hands, with a cat wandering somewhere nearby. Quiet, wise, and empathetic. A book that doesn’t change your life with a single sentence, but gently reminds you that your approach to life — joy, sadness, and courage — largely depends on you. And that sometimes, being a little kinder to yourself is truly enough.
That feeling is beautifully complemented by the book’s physical details. Inside, you’ll find a cat-shaped bookmark and subtle illustrations depicting the feline characters and the dishes served in the café. These small touches help bring the atmosphere to life — the situations the characters find themselves in, and even the imagined taste of the food. It’s a modest yet charming detail that makes the reading experience feel more complete, as if you really had stepped into that café for a moment — and didn’t want to leave too quickly.
