He and the children
left last night.
Why didn't you come to see them off?
Jun and Hotaru....
They looked lonely.
I felt so sorry for them.....
I couldn't even look them in their faces.
Why punish the children?
You're pretty cruel, aren't you?
I wanted to go.
I wanted to take the children back
by force if I could
It's too late to sound good now.
This is all your fault to begin with, Sis.
Did you ever think about how your husband felt?
I know that.
You don't have to say it.
I know it's my fault
But...
Tokyo was too much for him to bear.
The children, too.
Do you know how a mother feels?
The truth is...
I did go to Ueno Station.
That's the Sorachi River.
Dear Keiko,
Thank you for coming to see us off.
We reached
Hokkaido today.
Over here!
I'm glad you make it!
So you're Jun?
You don't look like a Jun. And What's your name?
Hotaru.
That's a fancy name. It means firefly. Does your butt
glow at night?
These 2 take after your wife, Uncle.
This is my car. It's a heap but get in anyway.
What's wrong, Hotaru?
You look funny.
Does it stink?
Open the window.
I found a mink the other day
and threw it in here.
That made it pee and it stank so bad, I poured some
cologne over it.
Then, Ma spilled shoyu over that.
Now, all the smells have gotten mixed up and it stinks real bad.
Do you still box?
Sort of. But I work like a dog here, so who knows
when I'll be able to get back into it?
This is the end of the paved road.
They're here, Ma!
I'm glad you came!
Hello.
How cute they are. These your kids, Goro?
I'm glad you came. You must be tired.
Where's Pa?
Dear!
Hello? Naka?
Thanks for everything.
We make it here.
At my cousin's....Kitamura.
I saw the truck. Thanks
Thanks
How's it going?
I'm sorry
you had to do all that.
I'll go there tomorrow.
So I'll be counting on you.
Thanks for everything.
And give my regards to Mizue.
Dad and I went to take a look at the house yesterday.
It really brought back memories. It still looks exactly the same.
First you left, then Uncle and Aunty.
It looks exactly
like when they left it.
Even the pots are still in the sink.
It must've been really hard back then, huh?
I never saw anyone skip town in the dead of night like you folks.
You don't have to drink so much.
Why not? It's been such a long time since we've seen Goro.
It didn't even take 3 years for Uncle and Aunty to
come back here as ashes.
I got everything ready for you to pay your respects at the graves.
Thank you.
Don't even mention it. We were neighbors.
Go and get it.
What?
Do you want something to eat?
Want something?
No?
Are you really serious about living there?
It's in pretty bad shape.
You may be use to it because you grew up there, but
those children of yours have only lived in Tokyo.
And winter's coming, too.
Make that thing with mayonnaise.
Goro doesn't want anything.
I do.
Did you get a divorce?
Reiko?
I'm surprised the children
came with you.
She has another man.
They're living together.
A lot can happen
in a life.
Dear Keiko?
I'm at
my uncle's house in Urano right now.
I wanted to keep this a secret,
but my mom and dad got divorced.
Mom found someone else she loved, and left us and
Dad six months ago.
Mom's smart and pretty
and busy as a hairdresser, so she
didn't get along with a dad who's undependable
and a hick.
Mom wanted to take me and Hotaru with her,
but
Dad's pride wouldn't
let him agree to that.
Thanks to him,
we had to come to Hokkaido where he grew up.
But
Hokkaido is romantic
just like you said, Keiko
The house we're going to live in,
is where Dad lived.
It's 20 km away from Urano
in a village called Kazo.
What kind of characters do you use to write "Kazo"?
Look! How beautiful the foliage is.
He doesn't know the characters.
A stove and lamps. I left the basics that you should need.
What about futon quilts?
We have sleeping bags.
Those should keep you warm.
What about tools?
I got everything you need.
I sent Kuma on ahead with everything. Kuma's real name is Matusshita. He work for us.
He should have everything cleaned up by now.
Let's go
He's a bit slow, but just tell him he'll do anything.
Thanks a lot.
What kind of house is it?
It's a good house.
How?
It's the kind of house
you'd see in a western movie.
Great!
You can see foxes and squirrels in the woods out back.
Even some deer.
You can see squirrels?
Sure you can!
Are there beers, too?
Sure. The guy that's there is nicknamed "Kuma" (bear).
Here we are.
Kuma!
Where is that fool? He hasn't cleaned anything up.
Come out here!
You were sleeping again, weren't you?
This is supposed to be fixed up?
I put a board over it and
pound in two nails so the children
can sleep. It'll be fine.
What're you saying? You have to patch those holes!
This is the house we're supposed to live in?
I don't believe this!
Dad?
I can't find a water faucet anywhere.
There aren't any.
There's a beautiful river in the woods back there.
That's our water faucet.
Go and get some water with Hotaru.
In what?
There should be some pots.
Sure....but they're so dirty, we can't use them!
That's good. Please go and wash them clean.
Which way is the river?
There's a path.
Do bear live near here?
You'll be fine. Bears are good-natured.
There isn't any path.
You can tell where people have stepped.
Don't go so fast.
I am not!
Be careful of bears!
There aren't any.
What if there are?
We'll just play dead.
Do you think you can think that clearly?
Look at this pretty flower, I wonder what it's called?
Who cares?
Will I get scolded if I pick some?
Who cares?
He should come himself!
Where?
To this dangerous place. But he sends his kids instead.
Did you hear that?
Jun?
What's wrong?
Did you see something?
No. I can hear the river. See? Listen.
I can't believe this!
What're we going to do?
Does he really mean to live there?
That's not a house. That's a shack!
My life is bleak.
That is why I said we should go with Mom.
Mom wanted us to.
If we had, we wouldn't be suffering like this now.
Sorry.
You promised that you wouldn't talk about that anymore.
Sorry.
Hotaru....
Run Hotaru!
What's you doing up there?
We were washing some dishes.
Sorry.
I peed upriver from you.
But don't worry.
Once the water flows two meters, it'll be clean again.
Uncle! I brought you some food!
Thanks
Hello
This is Yoshimura Tsurara.
She's my squeeze. She work at the local co-op supermarket.
He's not unbearable.
Nothing.
Nothing. Where shall I put this?
Inside.
Come on, Tsurara.
That's okay.
Here?
Is your uncle going to live here?
Surprised?
It's hard to believe.
Where's the light switch?
There's no light here, Jun-boy.
There's no electricity in this house.
No electricity!
We can't live here with no electricity!
That's not true.
What'll we do at night?
We go to sleep.
What about dinner and homework?
We'll have lamps. They're very nice.
How're we going to cook?
With firewood.
What about a TV?
We won't have one.
What about a refrigerator?
Things will get colder
if we leave them outside.
Up here, the only use for a refrigerator is to keep
food from freezing.
Let's go gather some firewood, Jun-boy.
I don't believer this.
This is much better, much better.
I never imagined it could look this nice.
A long time ago, we used to keep horses there.
You had horses?
Big ones?
That would be nice.
We'll have some soon.
I'll work hard and save money to buy one.
I'll work, too.
I'm depending on you.
Can you ride horses?
I used to ride them everyday.
Do you think I can?
You'll learn right away.
Then, I'll be able to ride to get water.
Sure you can.
And look for firewood.
The horse will help you with everything.
What about going to school?
I think you can.
No matter how dark a night it is,
or how hard it's snowing,
if you stay on the horse, it'll bring you right home.
Horses are smart.
They can see at night?
That's great. I'm going to school on a horse.
That's romantic.
Isn't it?
What's so romantic about it?
Eat up! It's done.
Eat up, Jun.
Dear Keiko? You conned me!
What's so romantic about Hokkaido?
Will they be all right? Should you have left them?
They won't make it through winter in that house.
The walls are so thin, no matter how hot they have the stove,
it'll be as cold inside as outside.
When we were kids, all the houses used to be like that.
We'd get all white and frozen in places like this.
But children from Tokyo won't be able to stand it.
Did you hear?
What?
Remember there used to be honey bee hives
in the field behind that house?
They were eaten by a bear.
A bear?
How far from the house?
Only about 200 meters.
Really?
The Bear Club's after it now.
Did you tell Goro about it?
I did.
What'd he say?
He said they always used to pop up once in a while.
He sounded nostalgic that they're still around.
I really think you should talk him out of it, dear.
He's not alone. He has the children with him.
All he has to do is work a little harder and he could live in town.
Goro has his reasons.
A lot of things must've happened in Tokyo.
No electricity or running water?
Get serious!
You may be able to live like that, but
Jun and Hotaru are still little!
You've got to be kidding.
I'm not kidding.
I've given this a lot of thought.
I know you're serious. But be realistic.
The children are still so young.
And they've never left Tokyo.
You want to yank them away, and take them to Hokkaido?
It goes down to minus 20 degrees....
If you're going to do that, I want custody of them
I won't allow this.
I want custody.
Please let me.
Say something to him, Yukiko.
I can't say anything. I know I don't have that kind of right.
That's why I've held back until now.
I'm grateful to you.
I haven't done anything
as a father for them.
That's not true.
I'm not smart.
I don't have an education.
I left everything to you.
That's not true.
Yes, it is.
Even if you had....
I've been thinking about this ever since you left us.
I've been thinking about what to do for them.
And this is what I've decided.
I feel badly for you, but I've made up my mind.
Just a minute.
Hotaru!
Dad! Mom!
Jun! Jun!
What is it?
There's something walking around outside.
Dad!
I know.
Is it a bear?
I don't know! Stay put!
Who's there?
Is someone there?
Are you all right?
Kazuo was worried so he told me to come out here and check on you.
He did?
Morning!
Did you sleep?
But I don't thnk Jun slept at all.
Is he awake?
He's asleep now.
This feel so good. I'll go fetch some water.
I'll go with you.
Hotaru?
Do you hate me for bringing you and Jun to a place like this?
What about Jun?
I don't know.
But...
I think things will be okay.
Dad?
Would you have come to live here even without us?
I'd have thought hard about it.
It'd have been lonely,
but I think I still would've.
Because everyone
is alone at the end.
You don't have to worry.
I'll stay with you forever, Dad.
Dad.
Meanwhile, I wasn't sleeping.
I was seriously trying to come up with a plan.
A plan to escape back to Tokyo.