Scene 3 : Ami Hostel

""Play 'Norwegian Wood,' said Naoko.
Reiko brought a porcelain beckoning cat from the kitchen. It was a coin bank, and Naoko dropped a hundred-yen piece from her purse into its slot.
'What's this all about?' I asked.
'It's a rule,' said Naoko. 'When I request 'Norwegian Wood,' I have to put a hundred yen into the bank. It's my fvorite, so I make a point of paying for it. I make a request when I really want to hear it.'
Reiko gave her fingers a good flexing and then played 'Norwegian Wood.' Again she played with real feeling, but never allowed it to become sentimental. I took a hundred-yen coin from my pocket and dropped it into the bank.
'Thank you,' said Reiko with a sweet smile.
'That song can make me feel so sad,' said Naoko. 'I don't know, I guess I imagine myself wandering in a deep wood. I'm all alone and it's cold and dark, and nobody comes to save me. That's why Reiko never plays it unless I request it.'" (Murakami 109)

This scene takes place in Ami Hostel, the sanatorium in which Naoko is supposedly working to improve her mental health. Instead of focusing on getting better and surrounding herself with things that make her happy, she identifies "Norwegian Wood" as her favorite song even though she says it makes her sad. The fact that she often asks Reiko to play the song for her, which makes her feel lost and as though no one is able to save her, shows that she was never really getting better.