[birds chirping]
[vehicle passing]
[rings]
Oh...
Are you going somewhere?
Mm-hmm. Kitami.
Hey, wasn't today your day off?
I told you that I had a practice test.
All the way in Kitami?
Oh, because my teacher said I should get used to other spots
so I don't fail the real one.
[sighs]
So... how are you feeling?
So nervous I could die.
It's just a practice test.
Sure, but it...
You'll always be my special little daughter.
Believe me, you'll be okay.
All right.
You should sleep in your bed.
[mother sighs]
I'm taking off.
[wind whistling]
MEMANBETSU
[whistling breathily]
[conductor] Thank you for riding with us. Now arriving at Kitami.
Please make sure you have all your belongings.
Now arriving at Kitami.
- [officer] Excuse me. - [Namiki] Yeah.
- [officer] Your ticket? - [Namiki] Oh, sorry, not now.
- [officer] Where's your ticket? - [officer 2] What's wrong here?
- [officer 1] He's got no ticket. - I've gotta do something...
- Then just show us your ticket! - Give me a break!
[officer 2] Then you're coming with us!
Please place your admission exam on your desk.
The entry sheets will be collected last,
uh, so please make sure there are no mistakes
and do not leave anything blank.
Hey! We're finished with sign-ins.
Get to your seat quickly.
Your sister is applying to a private school in Sapporo this year.
Must be nice for people who don't have to worry about money.
You want to go there?
Oh, I don't want to go, I guess.
I definitely don't have a sister.
SAPPORO SACRED HEART SCHOOL
[indistinct chatter]
PRIVATE SCHOOL FIRST CHOICE: SAPPORO SACRED HEART SCHOOL
[sighs]
[laughs]
BOHEMIAN SUMMER HIKARU UTADA CIRCUIT LIVE 2000
TITANIC
YAE NOGUCHI HARUMICHI NAMIKI
[object clatters]
BOUND FOR KITAMI
GRADE: A
[door opens, closes]
Hey, Yae.
Welcome back. I see you're still awake.
Mm-hmm.
- Wow, Yae! - Hm?
So cool!
It says you got an "A"!
Right here.
Oh. Mm.
[laughs]
SAPPORO SACRED HEART SCHOOL
Ah!
You choose the school you want now.
Not a problem.
Actually, it won't be a private school. I only wrote that in case.
I'm going to a local high school.
That's my smart little girl! [laughing]
Oh! You know, I'm gonna frame this!
- Huh? It's just a practice test! - I know, I know.
I want to commemorate it!
BOUND FOR KITAMI
Ai?
Ai...?
CONGRATS ON MIRACULOUSLY GRADUATING
BYE-BYE SEE YA!
[laughs]
[contemplative music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
Ah! In here. Yae.
[muffled conversation]
- Oh, yeah! - [group cheering]
"KIITE KUDASAI WATASHI NO JINSEI" KEIKO FUJI
[pop tune playing]
[singing in Japanese]
♪ It's automatic ♪
[singing in Japanese]
♪ I just can't help ♪
♪ It's automatic ♪
[giggling]
Guess what? I'm leaving for Tel Aviv tomorrow.
What? So, that means...?
Mm-hmm. I'm going on a world tour as a part of the company!
- Oh! - I owe it to you.
Stop it!
Seriously, it's true.
If I never had found a taxi and got to the airport two minutes later,
I wouldn't have made it in time for the audition.
Just like mascara, fate will change with just a little tiny wrist flick.
[chuckles]
But it's a big deal to do that at your age.
The way that you said it was so casual, like you're off to the store.
[giggles]
Do you travel at all?
Hmm-mm.
- No desire? - No, not that at all.
I'm really into it, and I want to.
[pats lap]
Sometimes I'll take a fantasy trip using street view.
The other day, I met an old, gruff man in a meadow living with his herd
of 108 sheep and goats
and then got on his camels and sang,
and ate this stew he gave me with a kind of weird meat in it.
[laughing] I love that!
I gave him Shiroi Koibito as a thanks, and he loved it.
Yeah, they're really awesome.
So I feel like I've traveled while on my couch.
You know, it's really not that hard to do.
You just need a book to entertain you,
and a little money, and that's really about it.
[giggles]
[sighs]
I once had a dream.
I had some opportunities and a few struggles.
And then I simply quit working towards it after a while,
and when I stopped... I couldn't move.
In the end, I just told myself
I was content with myself having done nothing.
You know the law of inertia?
An object that's resting will remain resting, you see?
As long as gravity exists.
Once an object stops moving,
you won't see it move again.
Applying a force on this supposedly immovable object
are your big dreams, some curiosity,
or the existence of someone you love.
So how about that?
All these seemingly hopeless old desires that spring from your heart
can sometimes move boulders!
[laughs] It's a really famous law.
I'm almost certain Newton proved it, like, three centuries ago.
[upbeat music playing]
I can't! I didn't mean to. I can't sing this! [giggles]
[singing in Japanese]
- Ooh! - You can sing it?
Wow, go, Uta!
Whoo! Whoo!
- Whooo! - We're into all that!
I'd love to! Go get it, Uta! [laughing]
What? That's great!
[singing in Japanese]
[speaking Japanese]
[bird chirping]
[peaceful music playing]
MOM TWO NEW MESSAGES
I HAVE SUDDEN NEWS
UTA IS GOING ABROAD TOMORROW MORNING
Oh! Hurry!
Here. Uh... It's okay, get in. Get in!
Buckle up.
[tires screeching]
Mom, you're a bad driver.
Are you kidding?
I always follow the rules and try to be safe.
- See? Oh! - [tires screeching]
[pedestrian] Crazy.
Sorry.
Uh, sometimes, I have to suddenly brake.
I'm sorry.
Okay.
[The Postal Service playing "Such Great Heights"]
♪ I am thinking it's a sign ♪
♪ That the freckles in our eyes ♪
♪ Are mirror images ♪
♪ And when we kiss They're perfectly aligned ♪
♪ I have to speculate ♪
♪ That God himself did make us ♪
♪ Into corresponding shapes ♪
♪ Like puzzle pieces... ♪
Oh, please!
♪ And true It may seem like a stretch ♪
♪ But it's thoughts like this That catch my troubled head ♪
♪ When you're away ♪
♪ When I am missing you to death ♪
♪ When you are out there on the road ♪
♪ For several weeks of shows ♪
♪ And when you scan the radio ♪
Hang on!
♪ I hope this song Will guide you home ♪
♪ They will see us waving... ♪
[tires screech]
♪ "Come down now" ♪
♪ They'll say ♪
♪ But everything looks perfect From far away ♪
♪ "Come down now" ♪
♪ But we'll stay ♪
♪ I tried my best to leave... ♪
[ringtone drumming]
- [man] Hello? - Yeah, Outaro?
- Yes? - I need some advice, if you don't mind.
Mm.
I'm heading to the airport from Otaru on a detour that will lead to Route 5.
Uh, I heard there's a lot of traffic in North Sapporo.
There was an accident near the interchange.
- Okay. - You might want to take the other road.
Okay, thank you very much.
♪ They'll say ♪
♪ But everything looks perfect From far away ♪
♪ "Come down now" ♪
♪ But we'll stay ♪
Oh! Almost forgot.
This is from Uta.
Here.
Wonder what's in it?
♪ They will see us waving From such great heights ♪
♪ "Come down now" ♪
♪ They'll say ♪
♪ But everything looks perfect From far away ♪
♪ "Come down now"... ♪
Next, please.
- Hello. - Your ticket and passport, please.
[music fades]
Maybe you got it from Grandpa,
being drawn to all kinds of arts like you are.
Hmm?
My dad's always so handsome and really well dressed
and a romantic who'd recite Yeats to your grandmother.
Always did things like that.
That sounds kind of pretentious.
When he was younger, he wanted to be a poet.
You serious?
And now he's a CEO?
There aren't many who can do what they love for work.
And you don't need to live how your parents want you to.
You have the right to believe
in your big, bold dreams and go after them.
Even if it doesn't work or it fails.
Remember that it will always have some kind of meaning.
NEW CHITOSE AIRPORT TAXI STOP
- Made it. - Thank you.
Yeah. Go on!
[contemplative music playing]
[crowd murmuring]
[woman] What's the holdup here?
[indistinct chatter]
What can I get you?
Uh, cream soda, thank you.
I'll have it right out.
Hey, Uta!
Uta!
Tsuzuru?
[Tsuzuru panting]
Uta... I really like you.
Whatever I did, no matter how much I tried,
I still like you.
Even if you love someone else,
I like the you who's in love.
Oh!
Here.
Have a listen.
[alert chimes]
[contemplative music playing]
A bit pretentious?
So this song is in three sections.
Oh, thank you, Tsuzuru.
[Uta giggling]
Uh...
By the way, where is your boyfriend?
Where is he?
Uh...
He was flirting with some other girl, so I kicked him to the curb.
[both laughing]
[upbeat music playing]
[giggles]
[laughing]
- [woman] Let me see! - [server] Thanks for waiting.
- Cream soda, miss. - Thank you.
- Enjoy. Thank you. - Thank you.
- [child] Have you been on a plane? - [mother] Uh-huh.
[child] What? Lucky!
[contemplative music playing]
[jet engines roaring]
[blues song playing]
Excuse me, it's just that...
Could you give me directions for the rest of the way?
Huh?
Uh, could you give me directions for the rest of the way?
I was in Tokyo until yesterday on a business trip, okay?
Oh, that would be hard.
I mean, my head's a little, like, stuck in line
with, uh, 246 right now.
When I was younger, I was hitting it and quitting it, serious.
- [laughing] - It was like one cab to another.
That's an analogy.
[blues song continues]
Um... Aren't you Mr. Ariyoshi?
Am I right?
- You're very close. - Uh...
- Practically right on. - I'm sorry, was I wrong? I'm sorry, wrong.
- Matayoshi. - Of course!
Matayoshi. Sorry!
- It's Matayoshi, I remember now. - It happens.
It's, uh... Tsuzuru is his name.
Tsuzuru, okay.
- I'll spell that for you. - Okay.
It's four "mata" characters.
It's actually from your name.
Ah! Tsu-zuru.
He sits in his chair forever,
holding just his chopsticks in both hands so carefully.
- [man] I should say... - [woman] What are you talking about?
- [man] I'm not thinking. - You're hopeless.
He's always like this.
[woman laughing]
[Yae] How are you?
Last night, I bought some Norwegian smelt
from the local supermarket, Saneya.
They process smelt from Norway in Vietnam,
and a distributor from Wakayama sells them.
Makes you feel how small the world is.
It was 70,000 years ago,
just as our ancestors bravely scattered themselves around the world.
It seems to me that humanity must constantly be on the move,
looking for somewhere that is not here.
- Thank you. - Okay. Thank you very much, sir.
[door closes]
[blues music playing]
♪ You've been nothing ♪
♪ Nothing but his fool ♪
♪ It makes you... ♪
- [coughing] - ♪ ...wanna break down and cry ♪
- Thanks. Have a good day, miss. - Thank you so much.
♪ Makes you wanna Get down on your... ♪
What kind of season is it there?
What kind of scenery do you see?
♪ Baby ♪
Have you caught a cold?
♪ Don't ♪
♪ Don't, don't, don't ♪
♪ Hey, don't you leave me... ♪
I very much...
♪ I'm begging you, baby ♪
I miss you very much.
♪ Wait a minute, baby ♪
♪ Whoa, baby, please... ♪
[song fades]
CANCEL
SAVE DRAFT
DRAFTS TO MR. NAMIKI
TOP INDIVIDUAL EARNERS YAE NOGUCHI
Time off request?
How much do you need: three days, five days?
I'd like to use all my paid time off and take off 40 days, thanks.
Yae...
- Don't you think that's a bit...? - Yeah?
You know, you'll have to be prepared to face some penalties, you know that?
My God, how scary, how scary!
This company really said that to one of their hardest workers
when she asked for time off for the first time since joining.
Hm? What was that called? Labor law?
- Hm? - It's the Standards Act.
Oh!
You tell 'em, Nasu.
Uh, article 136.
Employers aren't allowed to reduce the wages
of a worker using paid time off
or subject them to other such unfair treatment.
- That's right! - Come on, it's unfair!
Don't be so stingy!
Okay, fine! Just settle down, all right?
- [man] Stamp it! - [employees taunting]
- Stamp it! - He's gonna do it.
- Ho ho! - [workers cheering]
- [man] Okay, you understood it. - [shouting "Stamp it!"]
[cheering]
Thanks a lot.
[shouting, cheering continue]
You are a nice man.
[shouting, laughing]
On the 11th,
the World Health Organization's director, Tedros,
had declared the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19,
a pandemic,
and urged countries to take preventative action.
In a press conference, Director Tedros said
the number of patients outside of China grew thirteenfold in the last two weeks.
And countries affected tripled...
[Yae] 2020...
a historic disaster threatened humanity.
And a new way of life nobody could have predicted began.
[in Japanese] I am declaring a national state of emergency.
...can't work, you have to stay home.
You know, there's never been a case like this...
[woman] ...make sure that customers can be socially distanced.
...a second national lockdown, in Germany a partial lockdown...
[in German] ...the pandemic. We stand at the start of...
[reporter] ...which is a new normal.
- [man 1] So? - [man 2] Nope, nothing.
[man 2] Nobody's taking cabs to begin with.
There's no point in driving.
[man 3] I'm taking a part-time job next month.
Harvesting asparagus.
Asparagus?
[exhales sharply]
[Yae] The distance between people were kept,
their movements restricted,
and the borders between the nations truly became invisible walls.
Hi. It's Tsuzuru?
How are you?
Uh, I'm good.
Your shirt looks good on you.
Thank you.
[Yae] Eating and talking with close friends...
Doing music.
...the warmth of a loved one,
we realized what we once took for granted
turned out not to be the case.
[reporter] Due to the lockdown resulting from the declaration of emergency,
a decline in personal spending, such as travel and food,
and the large drop of exports due to economic crises abroad,
it has been said recently that Japan's GDP has shrunk by 20%
compared to this time last year.
Financial experts are calling for the gradual easing of...
[Yae] It made me start to think, living in this uncertain world...
when that time comes,
who is it I'd want to see again?
[DJ] FM Fuji, 78.6 and 83.0!
- [relaxing music playing] - Hello, there.
Today's guest is 19-year-old track maker and current sensation Tsuzuru.
Hello.
First off, let's discuss your new track,
which has more than 50 million views on YouTube, titled "U."
Whew!
[woman] Dr. Kosaka.
Yeah?
Could I
bug you...
[Kosaka clears throat]
...to get Tsuzuru's autograph?
I'm a huge fan!
- Oh. - I'd be so grateful!
Hey, wait! Uh, same for me?
Okay. How many?
- Uh, Ten, please. - Ten, please?
[fan] And 15 for me, please.
- So many? - Uh, ten then.
- Actually, could I get 20? - [Kosaka] Twenty?!
[fan] There's my mom, my dad, my cousins...
[indistinct chatter]
[Uta] Ah! [giggling]
Oh! I got some big news.
Hmm?
[Uta] Look who it this. See?
Hmm?
[Uta] It's Harumichi.
[gasps] Seriously?
[relaxing song playing]
DEPARTED SHIN-CHITOSE
[Namiki] To my beloved Yae Noguchi
ten years in the future.
Since we're putting each of our treasures in a time capsule,
I have decided to fill mine
with the priceless treasure of a precious memory.
It was the day I first met you, Yae Noguchi.
But I'm guessing you don't really remember it.
To be honest, I was nothing but trouble before I met you.
Which one's Mizukoshi?
Right there.
- [girls shriek] - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Wanna go, huh? - My God!
- Huh? - Back off!
- Boys! - [boys shouting]
Take this!
[girls screaming]
- [students clamoring] - Uggh!
[shouting, groaning]
- Bring it! - Namiki!
Not you again!
I am so embarrassed for my stupid son!
Tell us, why did you throw the chair?
The desk's too heavy.
Ha. That's not what I'm asking!
The hell?! Ow! [sighs]
[sobbing]
He'll be punished at home.
Hang on, just hang on, okay? Good.
Well, the thing is,
his sister was made fun of for her hearing.
Ahh.
Ahh-ha.
[Namiki] I'd throw it through the window again.
[Namiki] That night, my parents begged me to at least go to high school.
Hey, easy!
In return for them paying for the broken glass,
I begrudgingly promised to take the practice test.
Shut up.
It didn't matter how hard someone like me tried,
I probably wouldn't be able to get into any of the decent schools.
Don't squeeze it. Don't squeeze.
[whistle blows]
On the most depressed morning I'd ever had,
I had the greatest encounter of my life.
[contemplative music playing]
I fell instantly in love.
It was laughably easy.
I saw that she'd fallen asleep.
The book she was so focused on was about to close.
I looked for something I could use as a bookmark.
VIDEO
Damn.
I found something perfect in my pocket.
BOUND FOR KITAMI
[conductor] Thank you for riding with us. Now arriving at Kitami.
Please ensure you have all of your belongings.
Now arriving at Kitami.
Thanks.
- Excuse me. - Yeah.
- Your ticket? - Oh, sorry, not now.
Where's your ticket?
- Let go! - [officer 2] What's the problem?
- He's got no ticket. - I've got something important...
Then show me your ticket.
- [Namiki] Give me a break! - [officer] You're coming with us!
- Hey! - [Namiki] I'm begging you!
[officer] Then find your ticket, show it to us!
[Namiki groaning]
So please make sure there are no mistakes
and to not leave anything blank.
Hey. We're finished with sign-ins. Get to your seat quickly.
[Namiki] I went to the exam room in the worst mood.
To my surprise, I found her there.
I knew it right then.
That this was fate.
NAPE NAPE NAPE
Okay, stop!
Please turn your answer sheet over and pass them forward.
Those in the back row, make sure to collect the entry sheets.
- Here. - It's just that...
Huh?
[Namiki] Yae Noguchi.
KITAMI HIGH SCHOOL
[Namiki] Her first choice was a good school
in the next town over...
Yae Noguchi.
...or a super elite girls school in Sapporo.
In that moment, I knew what I had to do.
Should be...
That day forward, I studied so hard, my eyes would have bled.
[Namiki] Uh, no, no...
[man] Did he eat something funny?
My teachers told me to take their advice and move on.
Come on!
My family thought I went crazy and worried about me.
I wish I'd taken school more seriously up to that point.
[in Japanese] ♪ Our last kiss was ♪
♪ The flavor of cigarettes ♪
♪ A bitter taste ♪
[woman] Go, go!
♪ Around this time tomorrow ♪
♪ I wonder where... ♪
- [knock on door] - Huh?
Yes, sir!
♪ ...you will be thinking of ♪
[in English] ♪ You are always gonna be my love... ♪
- How's that? - Crazy.
Hey. So, what's your princess like?
To put it mildly, she's my goddess.
For real?
You know, what if she goes to the girls school, though?
All your hard work will be for nothing.
No. It's cool.
We... we would meet again.
[man] Stop being so nervous, there's no way!
It's not there.
It's there! It's there!
- Where? - 346! It's there!
- Where? - Ohh!
Three months later, I got into the public high school I wanted.
Everyone said it was a miracle.
[in Japanese] ♪ ...is about to start moving ♪
♪ So many things I don't want to forget... ♪
My bad. Excuse me.
♪ ...this time tomorrow ♪
♪ I know I will be crying ♪
♪ I will be thinking of you ♪
[in English] ♪ Hey-ey-ey ♪
♪ You will always be inside my heart ♪
[in Japanese] ♪ There will always be a place... ♪
[Namiki] This is my treasure.
The story of my first love.
That day, you gave me a reason to live
and taught me the path I needed to follow.
My dream is to make you happy.
March 11, 2001.
[students laughing]
Harumichi Namiki.
Namiki, what are you doing?
- Oh. - Let's go!
[students shouting, laughing]
- Come on! - Let's go!
[in English] ♪ I'll remember to love ♪
♪ You taught me how... ♪
[Namiki] P.S.
I'm glad you are doing well.
If we ever meet again...
I'd love to hear your story next.
[sniffles]
[wind whistling]
[alert chimes]
[man] We will now begin check-in for the 1:00 p.m. flight to Reykjavik Airport.
Here's your baggage ticket.
- Thank you. - Thank you. Have a nice day.
Next person.
Can I have your name, please?
- Sophia. - Sophia.
Okay, will you be checking any luggage?
Oh, yes, here you go.
[clears throat]
- [in Icelandic] Good luck. - [in Icelandic] Thank you.
[panting]
[in English] Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to Husavik?
[in English] Sure. It's that way.
Are you from China?
No, I'm from Japan.
We had another Asian customer last week.
He said he works at the Husavik Airport.
Are you sure?
Husavik is a small town.
[in Icelandic] Thank you! Thank you!
[upbeat music playing]
- [in English] Watch your step. - Thank you.
Thanks.
[Yae] Harumichi!
[in Japanese] ♪ My heart beating too loud ♪
♪ My legs frozen... ♪
Yae?
♪ ...so unlike me ♪
♪ The tear running Quietly down my cheek ♪
♪ They tell me ♪
♪ That this is my first love ♪
[in English] ♪ I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
[in Japanese] ♪ I thought it was a given ♪
♪ That human beings ♪
♪ Naturally fall in love, but... ♪
Harumichi...
I know that you're my first love.
I know it!
♪ If I had never met you ♪
♪ I can't fathom That anyone would have ever ♪
♪ Made me feel like this ♪
♪ My heart beating too loud ♪
♪ My legs running against my will ♪
♪ The tear surely running Down my cheek ♪
♪ They tell me ♪
♪ That this is my first love ♪
[in English] ♪ I need you, I need you ♪
[in Japanese] ♪ All this time ♪
♪ I was blaming things... ♪
Tastes like cigarettes.
Told you so.
Just call it flavorful.
♪ If I had never met you ♪
♪ I might have gone on living ♪
♪ Without even knowing Why I was given life ♪
♪ This fragile me That one word can break ♪
♪ I want to dedicate to you ♪
♪ A season that will never return... ♪
[Yae] "Appaushi."
♪ Was announcing its end ♪
♪ Awkwardly... ♪
You hungry? Here you go.
Thank you very much.
♪ Right there within reach ♪
♪ How can I possibly not chase it? ♪
♪ Whether it is The right thing to do or not ♪
♪ Nobody really knows... ♪
[writing on board]
♪ ...slowly grows towards the sun ♪
♪ Little things brought us joy ♪
♪ Little things caused us pain... ♪
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
BAKKI AIRPORT
Left.
Check.
- [co-pilot] Check. - Right.
[alert chiming]
- Check. - Check. Warning light test.
Check.
♪ ...that this was my first love ♪
[in English] ♪ I need you, I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
May I have your attention, please?
Welcome aboard our flight.
[tranquil music playing]
[upbeat music playing]
[relaxing music playing]
[peaceful music playing]
Enjoy your trip.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
I'm gonna service the plane.
- I forgot one thing. - Hm?