Penguin Random House India is set to publish Matcha on Monday, a warm and uplifting novel by bestselling Japanese author Michiko Aoyama. The book is the second title in the Marble Café series and explores themes of new beginnings, unexpected connections and finding meaning in life’s small moments.

Set in a quiet neighbourhood in Tokyo, the story revolves around the fictional Marble Café, where Mondays come with a special tea-tasting ritual. Over a cup of matcha, visitors pause, reflect and, sometimes unexpectedly, find a connection with others.

The novel follows people from different walks of life over twelve months. Among them are a woman trying to change her perspective, a couple facing a difficult phase, an artist who has lost her sense of purpose and a young woman struggling with family expectations. While each arrives carrying their own worries and unresolved questions, the café gradually becomes a place of comfort, reflection and chance encounters.

Rather than offering dramatic solutions, Matcha on Monday focuses on the quiet power of small gestures and ordinary moments. The novel suggests that a brief conversation, a familiar face or a simple pause in the day can sometimes offer a new way of looking at life.

A companion read to Aoyama’s Hot Chocolate on Thursday, the book returns readers to the world of the Marble Café and its interconnected stories of people finding warmth, perspective and unexpected possibilities in one another.

Michiko Aoyama is also the author of the multi-million-copy bestseller What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, which was named a Time Book of the Year and became a Times bestseller. Her stories are known for their gentle, reflective storytelling and their focus on everyday human connections.

With Matcha on Monday, Aoyama once again offers readers a quietly hopeful story—and a reminder that sometimes a fresh start can begin with something as simple as a cup of matcha.