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The Travelling Cat Chronicles and The Goodbye Cat

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Discover the fabulous new double volume hardback gifting edition of The Travelling Cat Chronicles and The Goodbye Cat.

Includes extra sparkle and elegance, with a brand new front-cover illustration.

Set against the backdrop of Japan’s changing seasons and narrated with a rare gentleness and humour, The Travelling Cat Chronicles explores the wonder and thrill of life's unexpected detours. It is about the value of friendship and solitude, and knowing when to give and when to take.

In The Goodbye Cat, seven cats weave their way through their owners' lives. Bursting with empathy and love, it explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down.

Both huge bestsellers in Japan, at the heart of these books is a powerful message about the importance of kindness. Every page is a joyous celebration of cats and how we cannot resist sharing our lives with them.

512 pages, Hardcover

Published November 6, 2025

18 people are currently reading
149 people want to read

About the author

Hiro Arikawa

76 books1,577 followers
Hiro Arikawa won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers for Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious in 2003, and the book was published the following year. It was praised for its love story between a heroine and hero divided by age and social status, and for its depiction of military structures. Although she is a light novelist, her books from her second work onwards have been published as hardbacks alongside more literary works with Arikawa receiving special treatment in this respect from her publisher, MediaWorks. Shio no Machi was also later published in hardback. Her 2006 light novel Toshokan Sensō (The Library War) was named as Hon no Zasshi's number one for entertainment for the first half of 2006, and came fifth in the Honya Taishō for that year, competing against ordinary novels.

She often writes about the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and her first three novels concerning its three branches are known as the Jieitai Sanbusaku (The SDF Trilogy); she also wrote about the fictional Library Forces in the Toshokan Sensō series. Raintree no Kuni, which first appeared as a book within a book in Toshokan Nairan was later published by Arikawa as a spin-off with another publisher. It was adapted into a film titled World of Delight released on November 21, 2015.[2][3]Her novel Shokubutsu Zukan (ja) will be adapted into a film titled Shokubutsu Zukan: Unmei no Koi, Hiroimashita and scheduled for release on June 4, 2016.

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42 reviews
February 15, 2026
The Travelling Cat Chronicles

This story is both feel good and sad at the same time and perfect to curl up with on the sofa during these darker nights, or in my case on a train.

The story follows a stray cat who after an unfortunate event finds a home with Satoru and gets named Nana. From Nana's perspective we find out about the events leading up to the 'adoption', how to adjust from a stray cat into a domestic cat, and a little about his new 'owner' Satoru. The traveling starts as Satoru is looking for a new home for Nana, for reasons that are initially not clear, and on these journeys we meet the people that have played an important role Satoru's life and through these interactions we learn about events that have shaped his life. Each of these friends are in one or another tied to a pet, and we meet some interesting characters along the way. We also learn more about the cat that is responsible for Nana's name.

This story is about the importance of the relationships, friendship, family, and pets, in our lives and how they can shape your life and, if you let them, help you navigate life's ups and down.
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