I'll return my New Year's present, so let me have mom back.
Oto.
I am Sugihara Oto.
I'm pleased to meet you.
Starting today, you are Hayashida Oto.
You will live with me.
Okay.
Grape flowers taste like grapes.
Banana flowers taste like bananas.
It's what mom used to say, but is it really true?
Stop using the Kansai dialect.
It's white! It's so white!
What is this?
What is this? What is this?
2009, Autumn
Ren.
Another bad dream?
If you take time off, they should give you paid leave.
I'm going to ride the crowded subway.
Will you let me leave without saying anything?
Take care, Kiho-chan.
Go out for a drink,
once in a while.
That girl just now, is that your girlfriend? Ah, thief!
I just came from Hokkaido. Huh?
Haruta, you... You stole my money last time, didn't you?
What? Here.
It was in here.
But we're friends! I'll be staying here while I'm in Tokyo, ok?
I ran out of money for my return trip.
So you stole this? It's not like that.
Someone dropped it. There was only 2000 yen inside.
Even if it's only 2000 yen, you can't just take it!
Are you the type to take things to the police?
It's amazing that you have a woman staying here.
It looks like this place has the world's biggest spiders.
Hey, you! Don't make fun of the world's biggest spider!
That's too big!
There is no elevator at location number 1. Seriously? -Yes.
Here. Hold on a sec.
Here, one more.
Ah! I'm sorry!
Excuse me.
Are you holding it? Yes.
If you are, lift it up. Okay.
Okay, here we go. Hang in there.
Come on, push. Push. Come on.
Ah, amazing! I received our tip.
Really? - Yes.
Want to go for a drink? Shall we? - Yeah.
Load those into the empty truck. Alright.
Ah, boss! Yes?
It seems that this month some sort of fee was deducted from my wages.
It's savings. It's for your future.
I see.
Morita Cleaning
Hayashida Oto
To Oto
Hey.
Hey!
Where did you steal this?
Hey!
This is this important to this person!
You can't do this! Hey, Haruta. Hey!
m 0 0 l 0 0 l 2.625 -9.375 l -14.625 -13.375 l -17.25 -4.625
NO ENTRY Authorized personnel only
Grape flowers taste like grapes.
Banana flowers taste like bananas.
Peach flowers taste like peaches.
SOME DAY, WHEN WE REMEMBER THIS LOVE, WE WILL SURELY CRY
Translation: Sanashi Timing: Ueto_senshi and Sanashi
Is there a mechanic nearby?
There's one 10km ahead, but they're closed today.
Thank you.
Coming!
Welcome.
Do you have your receipt? Ah... no.
If you forgot it, phone number will do.
Ah, no...
Um... I'd like to ask you something.
Alright.
Do you know this person? Hayashida Oto-san?
Hayashida
Hayashida Oto-san passed away.
She died.
From the shock of having her money stolen.
She really hated the person who robbed her.
Well?
Where is her grave?
Yes? What are you?
I came from Tokyo.
Tokyo.
What business do you have with Hayashida Oto-san?
This. Thief!
No, it's not like that. 2.060 yen.
There was 2.060 yen inside, right?
You used it?
Come. Let's go to the police. No, it's not like that!
I came to deliver this, but the one who stole it is someone else.
I'm Hayashida.
Hayashida who had 2.060 yen stolen from her.
Isn't she dead? Do I look dead?
And the grave? Empty, at present.
It's nice to meet you.
Here.
2.060 yen.
Did you really come from Tokyo to return this?
And you really weren't the one who stole it?
Even so?
Eat.
There's more!
I came to deliver this.
You read it?
I'm sorry.
But after I read it, I thought I absolutely had to return it.
This person must have read this hundreds of times.
I thought
this must be this person's source of strength.
I'm returning it. Your mother's letter.
Throw it away.
But it's important to you... Thank you.
I'm home.
Uncle, the flowers from the balcony...
BS is satellite tv
Shirai-san is here. He set up BS for us.
How is it? Ah, I was amazed!
How many inches is this? 42 inches. - Wow.
Good evening.
Tokyo boy!
You're Oto-chan's acquaintance?
You talked, right? In front of the cleaner's.
Give it up. Oto-chan has a good man.
She's getting married close to home. Right?
Young man, do you have money? Do you have a horse?
I wonder if it's too late for Shirai-san to pick me.
When he can marry a girl 25 years younger than him, there's no way he'd pick an old hag like you.
Hayshida-san got himself a nice transaction.
By trading a girl with no relatives, he'll come into money.
Without even waiting for Oto-chan's answer, Hayashida-san and Shirai-san agreed on the marriage.
Reversing his life with one strike.
And you even set us up with BS. I'm very grateful.
It looks good on you. Thank you.
Here. Sorry to keep you waiting.
I'm sorry that we have nothing better for you.
Hey, tea, tea. Ah, yes, yes.
You could have the ceremony early next year. How about just entering the registry for now?
He means the family registry
If I'm not there, the store would be in trouble.
Where will you live? Ah.
I was thinking a new house on the hillside.
Ah, right. There's that two family house there. It has two kitchens...
It hurts. It hurts! It has two kitchens and two bathrooms.
That is amazing!
But see, that girl's mother was the type of woman to have a child outside of marriage
so she wasn't raised properly from the start.
Oh, is that so? Yes.
The first thing I taught her was to wash the toilet with her bare hands.
If you can clean the toilet, your soul will become clean, too. - I see.
If you make them work hard, they will show you filial piety 20, 30 years from now.
Please, help yourself.
It's Kiho.
You're probably asleep already. I'll call tomorrow.
To delete this message...
Thief!
I'm not a thief! You are, aren't you!
I'm not a thief! I'm a mover!
Mr Mover, do you have an apple?
Why?
No.
Why are you shaking your head to everything?
To prevent his head from shaking.
Grab your neck.
Shinagawa
It's the station where the shinkansen stops, right?
Ah, yes. You live there?
No. I live at Yukigaya Ootsuka.
Yukigaya Ootsuka? Ooh. Is it famous?
What's inside?
Canned peaches.
This is the first time I've seen a person with this many canned peaches.
Some people would fall in love with you, just for this.
Is it true that you can walk the length of one train stop in Tokyo?
It's true. No way!
You can walk for around 3 stops.
Don't lie! 3 stops is for athletes.
You don't need to be an athlete. That's like a race.
It's not a race. Walking for 3 stops is not like a race.
Eat the candy.
What were you doing?
Nothing.
Take care on your way back.
Huh?
You're fast. I am.
Just like your mother.
Oh, because you read that? Did you throw it away?
No. Um, I have it.
I'll bring it, so you throw it away yourself. Throw it away.
I won't do it. I can't throw away something like that.
Coming?
A dam was supposed to be built here.
If it had, the town would now be flooded at the bottom of the dam.
But because of money and environmental issues, there was opposition
and 10 years ago, construction was suspended midway.
Sit.
I was a child at the time, but I was disappointed they stopped.
This town.
I thought it deserved to be flooded.
They would sound the sirens and everyone would run from the town at once.
Once everyone was gone, only one big lake would remain.
I was always imagining that.
Marriage. What?
Aren't you going to refuse? What? Are you a detective?
I'm a mover.
Mr Mover, stop doing a background check on me.
You had yakisoba, right?
Why do you know that?
It's only natural. There are no unfamiliar faces in this town.
Nor unfamiliar streets, or even manholes.
There's only rumors.
The cabbage in yakisoba was too hard, right?
They said your foster father decided on your marriage.
People in Tokyo may think that marrying out of love is a matter of course.
But it's common for the family to decide such things.
In the letter from your mother...
Important things are just a burden.
Sugihara Oto drowned in my imaginary lake.
I am now Hayashida Oto.
Meeting familiar faces on familiar streets,
passing over familiar manholes, forever remaining in this town.
Always so stubborn.
Auntie?
You should have had it buried in a potter's field.
I'm sorry.
We'll fix it somehow by the evening. Thank you.
Oto-chan, do you know Itou-san? The single mother. - I do.
She hasn't come to pick up her clothes for 3 months. Go deliver them.
Okay.
Itou-san.
Haruna-chan.
Itou-san.
Turn around.
It's Pronovias wedding dress. One costs as much as a foreign car.
Surprised?
Say...
Try putting it on.
Could you lend me some money?
What?
Could you lend me 32.000 yen?
Do you know Itou-san?
Haruna-chan's mother.
Her gas and electricity have been switched off. If she can't pay rent, she'll lose her apartment.
I don't want to hear such gloomy things now.
I'm sorry.
It's fine if it's not 30.000 yen. At least a little.
You shouldn't pamper someone who has a child without considering the consequences.
Thank you.
Take care.
You know, today. Yeah?
I went to Imura-san next door.
Oh. Is he doing well?
He gave me slippers at the entrance, and they were from JAL.
JAL? Yes.
He bragged to me about going to Hawaii.
Did he?
Wouldn't you want to go to Hawaii?
Hmm
Why don't you ask Shirai-san?
He set up the antenna for us, didn't he?
I'm letting him have a 21 year old girl.
He can at least take you to Hawaii.
Uncle. Yes?
You know, I... Yes?
I am very grateful to you and auntie.
I will forever be indebted to you.
Come now. But...
I have only one request.
You see.
You see...
I don't want to marry a man I don't love.
I'll do my best.
I don't know when it will be, but I'll do my best so that I can travel.
Please.
Please let us live like this
the 3 of us, together, in this house.
So ungrateful.
Auntie.
What's wrong? Are you alright?
She's calmed down.
Go home!
It's fine now. Thank you.
I'll take you home.
Can it be somewhere else?
Where?
Family restaurant.
What should I get? It's beyond my expectations. The family restaurant?
Yeah. It's my first time. I'm a bit excited.
Ehh, what should I get? I can't decide.
What should I get?
This, maybe? Yeah, I'll take that.
Ah, but should I get it with grated daikon or tomato sauce?
How about we get one of each?
We can order different ones and split. That's a good idea.
I press here, right? Yes.
It rang!
May I take your order?
This and this, please. We'll split them and eat them together.
Very well. Okay.
Ah, grilled chicken sandwich.
Pork saute, mushroom cream sauce.
Mr Mover, do you often go to family restaurants?
Not really. I see.
Do you have a girlfriend?
I do. Oh? What's she like?
Company employee. I see.
So then, do you ever stand on the opposite sides of the ticket gate and say like "I'll call you"?
What?
Do you go to firework displays?
And... Do you go to furniture stores together?
No, we don't.
Furniture stores in Tokyo are really huge, right? You can get lost inside, right?
High heels? What?
Does she wear them? Ah. Yes.
What clothes does she wear?
Clothes? Yes.
Hmm... clothes...
Different than these, right?
Look.
She's a little more stylish.
Look here, Mr Mover.
I'm also really particular about fashion.
No, um, that...
That's not fashion. It's to keep the cold away.
If you look at it that way, all clothes keep the cold away!
No, if you look at it that way, the most fashionable one would be a sheep.
A sheep? A sheep.
I wonder.
I used to date someone, too.
What was he like?
She means one of the school clubs
Hori-kun, from the meteorological club.
We dated from 3rd year of middle school, to 3rd year of high school.
I liked him quite a bit.
What did you like about him?
His downward glance.
What is that?
You don't know?
It's like, unexpectedly, he'd just go like this. You know?
No, I don't. Try it.
No, I can't. You can. Go.
That's just looking down.
So, you liked him just because of his downward glance?
Somehow, while he was reading a book,
I'd wonder what he was reading and try to secretly take a peek.
Also, you know those Stevenson screens?
Those boxes with thermometers that look like small houses.
Hori-kun would go there during lunch break.
I'd watch him thinking, "Ah, today he's eating a fruit sandwich."
It's strange, isn't it. The people you love,
you don't see them because they're there, they're just there when you look.
For example, in the classroom...
Yeah.
What is Hori-kun doing now?
He went to Sapporo University.
An acquaintance ran into him once, and told me he's doing well.
It's a good idea, that. Ordering different ones and splitting.
Triple berry parfait.
You'll find someone again. A person you'll love.
Belgian chocolate pudding.
After all, you should...
he starts to say "with someone you love" he means she should marry someone she loves
So the most fashionable one is a sheep, huh?
Thank you for waiting. Here is the hamburger meal.
Please take your time. Okay.
I decided to get married to Shirai-san.
I decided earlier, at the hospital.
Thank you, for bringing me the letter.
It's like you said.
It was my source of strength.
I was really happy. So I can get married.
Mr Mover. Yes?
You just did a very nice downward glance.
Thank you. Itadakimasu.
Delicious!
Umbrella.
Why did you come all the way from Tokyo to bring me a letter?
I'm the same.
I don't have parents either. I have a source of strength too.
Umbrella!
It's fine. I can run through the rain.
I drove them both home.
Thank you.
I discovered your hidden reasons.
So I told Hayashida-san,
maybe he should have also taught his daughter to keep her legs together.
Uncle?
Ah. Welcome back.
The landslide caused a gas line rupture.
If you want to reach the highway, you need to take a detour. - Okay.
Ah. Middle schoolers caused an incident again.
This is a cruel world.
Oh, Oto!
Do you know Yamagawa-san's son?
It seems he got divorced.
He's over 50, though. How about it?
Huh? What do you say?
Fine.
Really?
Yes. It's fine. Oh, I see. I see.
Erase it.
Yamagawa-san has a plot of land in front of the train station.
He has a parking lot. I don't need it anymore.
That plot of land... I don't need it.
Erase it.
Oto. Run!
Go to a place you like.
Oto. You! Wait there!
Hey! Look here.
Oto! Will you just let us die? Shut up!
Mr Mover! Get in!
Your shoe? Luggage?
I don't need it. I don't need anything.
To Oto.
It's the middle of the night, just past 2AM.
This may be my last chance.
Thinking that, I asked the hospital staff for some paper and a pen.
But it's embarrassing because I can't write properly anymore.
If you hold up the paper to the light, small flowers will appear.
Wonderful, isn't it?
Oto, I will be gone soon.
It passed in a blink of an eye. There's not enough time.
I haven't finished anything. I can't die yet.
You will be left all alone.
Oto, I immeasurably regret bringing you into a world where you have no father.
And I... can't even tie your hair for you anymore.
But even so,
I am glad I gave birth to you.
You were such an inquisitive child.
Why is water wet?
Why does hair keep growing and eyebrows stay a certain length?
Why is there loneliness?
You didn't need a picture book.
You'd dream up your own stories while listening to me speak.
While looking at the tiny you following me, who was used to walking fast, saying "it's alright," I always thought:
She's taping Hayashida Oto over Sugihara Oto
This girl has a great strength to push through life.
Oto, meet many people.
Look freely. Talk freely. Live the way you want to.
I think that is a precious gift you were born with.
I wonder if some day, you'll go to school and make friends.
Become a middle schooler, then a high schooler.
Will you fall in love?
I wonder what kind of love it will be.
Falling in love is not always happy, it can be painful, too.
I'm sure that we possess the feeling of loneliness so that we could meet someone.
Hori-kun: Oto-chan, let's take the entrance exam for Sapporo University together! :D If you you have time, come to the classroom tomorrow to look at the materials?
At times, life is tough, but you can forget about it when you're in love.
Fall in love. Then, some day
I hope you'll meet that one person.
I'm sure he'll be able to give answers to your questions.
He'll listen to your story.
He'll be happy you were born.
Grape flowers taste like grapes.
Banana flowers taste like bananas.
I believe that love is something that leaves a mark from one heart on another.
When Oto is laughing, I'm laughing too.
When Oto is running, I'm running too.
My beloved daughter. My beloved Oto.
I love you.
Please be happy. - Mother
Are you doing well?
Have you found love?
Will my dream come true some day?
Somewhere along this road
Do you remember
the shaking barley we saw that night?
I kept searching the endless sky on the horizon
While imagining the future
Now inside this dream
Izakaya? Yes.
A friend told me she worked here.
Radiance of shapeless things
I'll go ask her if I can stay with her for a while.
Gently, gently embrace it
And continue on
But since it's this thing, maybe it's better to go empty-handed.
It's customary to take a gift when visiting
Thanks.
I'll be right back.
Ren!
Konatsu?
Ren!
Ah, I'm sorry! Excuse me!
What?
After that, I didn't meet him again.
It's been one year since I came to Tokyo.
Unfamiliar city. Unfamiliar streets. Unfamiliar faces.
Even if I walk around all day, I won't meet anyone I know.
Cheers!
Mr Mover, where are you?
Sugihara Oto
Hey, hey! Wanna drink?
January, 2011.
I am now living in Tokyo.