Malzat Tokyo | Durian Sukegawa

The first time I saw you, it was my weekly picnic. I was strolling admiring the cherry trees on Commercial Street when a savory smell led me to the Doraharu store. I saw you then. I saw your face. Your eyes looked so sad, just like mine in the past. That is why I stopped in front of the store, as if I am irresistibly drawn to it.”

Sentaro works in a dorayaki pancake shop in the heart of Tokyo. His life is turned upside down when he hires Toki, an old lady with deformed fingers who will teach him how to lovingly prepare his pie filling, until his shop becomes a go-to for connoisseurs of this traditional Japanese dessert. But Toki was hiding a secret that could not be revealed, and she disappeared without warning as suddenly as she appeared, leaving a lesson for Sentaro that will accompany him for life.

The Pleasures of Tokyo" is a poignant and poetic novel about the pain of bodies and hearts, and about love, kindness and endurance, But above all, it is the story of an unexpected encounter between two people who are more similar than they think, despite their different ages and aspirations.