The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Limited
Publish date: 30 June 2026
Pages: 240
Binding: Paperback
Language: English

Subjects: Fiction, Literary

THE INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER

DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FEELGOOD JAPANESE NOVEL, BY THE AUTHOR OF THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES

Over 1.4 million copies sold in Japan

'You will be wrapped in laughter and tears' Reader review*****
'What I love about it is its Kindness' Reader review*****
'I wanted to tap the shoulders of the characters' Reader review*****
'Imagine Murder on the Orient Express without the untimely fatalities and you'll be halfway towards this cosy and affecting read' Harper's Bazaar
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The contents of each traveller's heart is a mystery known only to themselves

Trundling through the scenic countryside of Kyoto and Osaka is the Hankyu line, a burgundy-coloured electric train that has been carrying its commuters to their destinations for decades.

Over the course of a single journey in springtime, and the return journey six months later just as the leaves begin to fall:

- a young man meets the woman who happens to take out the last copy of the library book he was about to borrow;
- an angry wedding guest dresses in a white gown to upstage the bride;
- a university student leaves home for the first time;
- a twenty-something finally grows the courage to walk away from an abusive partner
- a widow learns independence, as she and her granddaughter discuss their new dog.

As the seasons and the landscapes change, passengers jostle and connect, as this timeless train carries each one forward towards the person they intend to become.