
Strange Weather in Tokyo
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Allison Hiroto
About this listen
Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize, Strange Weather in Tokyo is a story of loneliness and love that defies age.
Tsukiko, 38, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, "Sensei", in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him "Sensei" ("Teacher"). He is 30 years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to a hesitant intimacy, which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.
As Tsukiko and Sensei grow to know and love one another, time's passing is marked by Kawakami's gentle hints at the changing seasons: from warm sake to chilled beer, from the buds on the trees to the blooming of the cherry blossoms. Strange Weather in Tokyo is a moving, funny, and immersive tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance.
Photo credit: ©Hisaji Hara and Natsumi Hayashi
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Performance
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Yoshie's much-loved musician father died in a suicide pact with an unknown woman. It is only when Yoshie and her mother move to Shimokitazawa, a traditional Tokyo neighborhood of narrow streets, quirky shops, and friendly residents, that they can finally start to put their painful past behind them. However, despite their attempts to move forward, Yoshie is haunted by nightmares in which her father is looking for the phone he left behind on the day he died, or on which she is trying—unsuccessfully—to call him. Is her dead father trying to communicate a message through these dreams?
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The story is good but the performance is lacking
- By Juliana on 10-24-24
By: Banana Yoshimoto, and others
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Kitchen
- By: Banana Yoshimoto
- Narrated by: Emily Zeller
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Mikage is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, Mikage is taken in by her friend, Yoichi, and his mother (who is really his cross-dressing father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart.
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First Time is the Charm
- By just asking for some common sense on 08-22-19
By: Banana Yoshimoto
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How Do You Live
- By: Genzaburo Yoshino, Bruno Navasky, Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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How Do You Live? is narrated in two voices. The first belongs to Copper, 15, who after the death of his father must confront inevitable and enormous change, including his own betrayal of his best friend.
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pure joy
- By greta shlafmitz on 01-09-22
By: Genzaburo Yoshino, and others
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Breasts and Eggs
- By: Mieko Kawakami
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, Jeena Yi
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Breasts & Eggs paints a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan and recounts the intimate journeys of three women as they confront oppressive mores and their own uncertainties on the road to finding peace and futures they can truly call their own. It tells the story of three women: the 30-year-old Natsu, her older sister, Makiko, and Makiko’s daughter, Midoriko. Makiko has traveled to Tokyo in search of an affordable breast enhancement procedure. She is accompanied by Midoriko, who has recently grown silent.
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Masterful Writing and Performance
- By Noelle on 03-01-21
By: Mieko Kawakami
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Heaven
- A Novel
- By: Mieko Kawakami
- Narrated by: Scott Keiji Takeda
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami’s novel is told in the voice of a 14-year-old student subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete resignation. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate who suffers similar treatment at the hands of her tormenters.
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Great listen
- By Anthony on 07-30-21
By: Mieko Kawakami
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Diary of a Void
- A Novel
- By: Emi Yagi, David Boyd - translator, Lucy North - translator
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that as the only woman at her new workplace—a manufacturer of cardboard tubes—she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can’t clear away her coworkers’ dirty cups—because she’s pregnant and the smell nauseates her. Except Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. But she has a nine-month ruse to keep up. Before long, it becomes all-absorbing, and with every stage of her “pregnancy,” the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve.
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whiny lost woman
- By Pam Haynes on 12-01-23
By: Emi Yagi, and others
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The Housekeeper and the Professor
- By: Yoko Ogawa
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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He is a brilliant math professor with a peculiar problem - ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only 80 minutes of short-term memory. She is an astute young housekeeper - with a 10-year-old son-who is hired to care for the professor. And every morning, as the professor and the housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them.
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The Wonder Of Kindness & Connection
- By Sara on 06-16-16
By: Yoko Ogawa
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The Easy Life in Kamusari
- Forest, Book 1
- By: Shion Miura, Juliet Winters Carpenter - translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Yuki Hirano is just out of high school when his parents enroll him, against his will, in a forestry training program in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. No phone, no internet, no shopping. Just a small, inviting community where the most common expression is “take it easy.” At first, Yuki is exhausted, fumbles with the tools, asks silly questions, and feels like an outcast. Kamusari is the last place a city boy from Yokohama wants to spend a year of his life. But as resistant as he might be, the scent of the cedars and the staggering beauty of the region have a pull.
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I wanted it to be a true story
- By Scott on 05-19-22
By: Shion Miura, and others
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What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
- A Novel
- By: Michiko Aoyama
- Narrated by: Hanako Footman, Susan Momoko Hingley, Kenichiro Thomson, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose. In Komachi’s unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams.
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The power of honesty and an open mind
- By ili pika on 09-10-23
By: Michiko Aoyama
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Earthlings
- A Novel
- By: Sayaka Murata
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth.
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Intriguing but disturbing
- By C. Parham on 01-01-21
By: Sayaka Murata
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Marigold Mind Laundry
- A Novel
- By: Jungeun Yun, Shanna Tan - translator
- Narrated by: Sofia Jin
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Born with mysterious powers she does not know how to control, young Jieun accidentally causes her family to vanish. She vows to live a million lives in search of them. Finally, one night, she brings the Marigold Mind Laundry into existence. Its service: to remove the deepest pain from our hearts. Jieun listens while customers share their unhappy memories. As they speak, she transfers their sadness onto T-shirts as stains. After a spin in the washing machine, the stains become flower petals that soar into the air, and Jieun’s customers find solace.
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Sometimes finding what we want, means letting go of everything.
- By Rebecca A. Frager on 01-29-25
By: Jungeun Yun, and others
What listeners say about Strange Weather in Tokyo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Summer Storm ML
- 03-29-25
Great Story
I really like the story itself, but the narrator is so robotic it makes the character lack emotion.
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1 person found this helpful
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- BenYL
- 03-16-21
Loved it
The whole book has the sensibility of haiku. It’s distilled, delicate, sensual, deep, tender, subtle. The narrator was perfect for the part & I’m already planning to relisten to it soon.
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4 people found this helpful
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- j. grant
- 04-17-23
Lovely story
Lovely written story and a great narrator. It was a bit slow, but endearing.
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1 person found this helpful
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- M. Rogers
- 07-14-24
enjoyed. not my usual
overall good story and we used together time and characters in an interesting way. I'm just starting to get into this kind of book and I enjoyed it.
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- James K. Eckmann
- 12-11-22
read this gentle love story
well written excellent flow fascinating unusual story. quick fun read. wholeheartedly recommend for anyone
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1 person found this helpful
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- Craig
- 03-11-24
Beautifully written work about life
This book was a great listen it so masterfully takes us through the daily interactions of two people who need each other so very much. Love has no bounds.
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- Paula de la Cruz
- 03-09-24
Very charming
Story about an unusual romance between an elderly professor and her former student, told through the seasons in Tokyo. The descriptions are very colourful and overall this book gave me a sense of peace.
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1 person found this helpful
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- A. Hawley
- 08-02-23
A Little Too Cool for Me
I thought that this was OK. I found the voice to be a little too distant for my taste. It didn't help that I didn't particularly care for either of the mains.
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1 person found this helpful
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- mz
- 01-02-19
Cozy Love Story and Leisure Time in Japan
A cute and warm story of love between two people aged 30 years apart. Cozy food and drinks in the odenya, mushroom hunting in the forest in Tochigi, Kappabashi the kitchenware district, high school reunion, island inn, ... the book takes us into the average Japanese person's leisure life outside of work. Every moment in the book is after work or on the weekends, giving the book a relaxed setting that is easy to read on.
I've listened to the book twice in a row. It's a nice leisurely listen, especially if you are interested in Japanese daily life, Japanese food, culture, nature, or quiet and gradual romance.
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8 people found this helpful
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- annygries
- 04-21-21
Beautiful descriptions, lackluster characters
I read this book since it was on a list of books that describe Japanese scenery well. It certainly accomplished that with equally delicious sounding food. The story though was 5ish hours, and after 3 hours I was ready for it to end. The two main characters are nothing special and rather dull.
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3 people found this helpful