All language subtitles for Haruka.Nostalgia.1993.Obayashi.BD.en

A production by Kunio Kawashima
& Kyoko Obayashi

A Nobuhiko Obayashi film

Haruka, Nostalgia

Produced by Kyoko Obayashi
& Katsumi Koide

Directed and written by
Nobuhiko Obayashi

There are things in life
you must not forget.

Simply recalling them
and continuing to suffer from them

can be a form of atonement.

This is the tale of a man
with a strange heart,

who returned to his hometown
after a span of 30 years,

as if called back
by distant memories.

The year 199x
otaru, spring

I had intended it
to be a short trip.

I had planned to
go straight back to Tokyo

after two or three days
in this hilly town.

However...

Ouch...

Are you OK?

Yeah.

Here.

What'll you do about this?

- Damn it...
- Let's get it to the cleaners, OK?

I know a great place, fast, friendly,
perfect for travelers.

- Did it break?
- Yeah.

Can't be helped.

It's not like there was anything
I wanted to photograph, anyway.

Really?

Something wrong?

This might sound like an excuse, but this
is the first time I've ever fallen over.

You suddenly felt your
age, and fell over!

Hey!

This way!

Sorry for making you take a detour.

- I'm just happy to help you out.
- Is that so?

I fall over all the time, you know.

That's different to this, though.

I never imagined
I'd fall over like that,

but meeting this girl twisted my
journey into a wholly unforeseen direction.

Unforeseen...but was it really?

Hey, big brother.

You got a customer.
He fell over up on the hill.

Just look at this! I told
him that you're fast and friendly,

so make it snappy, please.

It'll take some time.

Cutting back on time
is one of the friendliest

things you could do
for a traveller, right?

(murmuring German)
"There is a time for everything."

I can't just lengthen or shorten time.

Come back at 10 tomorrow.

9 tomorrow, then!

Thank you.

What a wryly guy.

So, that's that!

- So, how about a coffee?
- Huh?

As a thank you.

Thanks for the invite, but...

I see. No reason why you'd be
into this clumsy old man, really.

You're not cold?

No, not at all.

"'It's spring in Otaru now,'

said the girl.

From that moment,
the entire world turned into spring.

That's what he thought."

- You...
- "Love is High Tide".

Shinsuke Ayase!

If you want to thank me,
write me into one of your novels.

Goodbye!

Don't go falling over any more!

The girl's smile was
as bright as spring,

but my heart was dark.

The reason I had
originally set out for Otaru

was because of the
death of an old friend.

Seemed like he fell
down totally unexpectedly.

It was the first time something
like that had happened.

He was pretty surprised himself.

He'd been staying up all night
for quite a while.

I said, "How about
you rest for a day or so?", but...

There's something I have
to take care of today.

- It's pretty windy now.
- Be careful!

The cover of
"Love is High Tide".

It's truly a masterpiece.
He knew Ayase would be pleased.

- Hello.
- Thank you for coming in all this rain.

He said that his
mind began to overflow

with images of the
heroine, Manami Setouchi.

He was full of enthusiasm,
saying it'd be one of

Shinsuke Ayase's "Otaru-esque"
series' most famous works.

He phoned late at night,
which was unusual.

All he would say was,
"Hello? Hello?"

So when I responded,
raising my voice,

he said, "So you are there!
I can hardly hear you!"

"You should be able to hear me,
I can hear you loud and clear!" I said,

"That's odd," he said,
"maybe my hearing's gone bad."

"Shouldn't you be
coming home soon?",

I yelled two or three
times into the mouthpiece,

and he replied...

"I'm drawing!
I'm drawing so much!"

...just like a child.

Children...!

When one of his students visited
Kinomiya's workplace in the morning,

they found him collapsed
under his desk.

Mr. Kinomiya! Mr. Kinomiya!

Blood was trickling out of his ears,
so they called a doctor.

But by then, he was already...

Recently, there have been more
funerals than celebrations.

It was always somebody else
that passed away, though.

To think that your time
comes so suddenly...

Enough already!
Die already, quickly!

Dear!

Akira Kinomiya, your work just
gets better and better.

I've decided on
a title for the 8th book.

"Love is High Tide".
Sounds good, right?

- Yeah.
- Make it a masterpiece, Ayase.

Take a look at
these fan letters, though.

Oh, this is me.

Ayase's "Love is..." series...

half of their popularity came from
Kinomiya's portrait illustrations.

If Akira Kinomiya dies, half of
Shinsuke Ayase dies as well.

For me, all of it.

It didn't turn out
to be bright and cheerful,

but I still had a memorable youth.

Dreams for the future
mixed with compromises,

- and my friend's beautiful fiancée.
- OK, photo time!

That was what symbolized my youth.

Oh, no, the person in
the middle dies first.

That's you.

Write a masterpiece, okay?

I'm counting on it,
Shinsuke Ayase.

Shinsuke Ayase?
What a wonderful name!

- Don't you think, Okazaki?
- Yeah. Our "hope"!

Perhaps we're finally at the age
where we can't get work

that'll last us for the year,
or even six months, perhaps.

It's pathetic that we can't
settle down into a nice big job.

Though we ought to have been
the future of Japanese literature,

perhaps our lives will end
with Lil' Bunko novels.

Thinking of my own death
is unbearable.

What is this?!

I couldn't sleep,
not even a wink until morning.

That girl's voice would ring
in my ears now and then.

Shinsuke Ayase!

If you want to thank me,
write me into one of your novels.

Thank you.

"There the girl stood, as if
he had foreseen it."

"Love is a Gentle Breeze".

I think I'll take that
coffee after all.

It's you! What's up?

I thought getting
a date with a famous

writer might be a
once-in-a-lifetime chance.

"'Is it a bother?',

the girl said in an adult-like way,
stretching taller with all her might."

It'd be my pleasure, young madam.

"Love is Tedium".

That was how the strange story
of this girl and I began.

Looking at it this way,
Otaru has indeed changed considerably.

"Nostalgic memories
gradually come to nothing."

- Is it sad?
- No.

That's why I felt
alright coming here.

Has it been a while?

Yeah.

Since high school.

Really? That far back?

There are still students
like that here, I see.

What a silly boy.

Were you like that
back in those days?

- Yeah.
- Sorry for the wait.

I had heard that it'd all changed,
that all that had been destroyed.

I came to make
sure that was true.

"I have no past here anymore."

"It was all buried in the
far reaches of my memory."

"It was all buried in the
far reaches of my memory."

- "I felt much better about my present."
- "I felt much better about my present."

- "Love is Illusion".
- "Love is Illusion".

I give up! You really have
read all of them, haven't you?

All your novels have the
same themes, after all.

Well...perhaps so.

It's weird, though,
why do you only write

about Otaru, even though
you want to forget it?

So that I can forget it.

I paint it over with a false,
present-day Otaru.

You hate Otaru that much?

I hate who I was as a boy.

How literary of you!

- That's because I'm a novelist.
- I guess so.

Reading your "Love is..." series,

I always thought you were
in Otaru all year round.

That's why I thought bumping into you like
that wasn't such a strange experience.

How did you know it was me?

Well, you appeared in the
Popprui Grand Prix just the other day.

"Shinsuke Ayase: in the Midst
of a Passionate Romance!"

With a lovely young woman,
Reiko was her name, right?

My partner Akira Kinomiya
always used to research Otaru for me.

Akira Kinomiya!
Manami Setouchi from "Love is High Tide"..

don't you think
she looks just like me?

- Did she?
- "Did she"?

It's Lil' Bunko's latest book!

If I was a girl in one
of your "Love is..." series novels,

what would you call me?

"Yoko Miyoshi".

Yoko Miyoshi?

How would you write it?

The kanji for "3",

"like", "distant" and "child".

- "A distant child"...?
- Like this.

Yoko Miyoshi

I'm only joking.

Which reminds me...
I never asked what your name was.

Yoko Miyoshi.

Stop that!

Sorry...I don't think you
should joke about your own name.

- Tell me your real name.
- Alright.

Haruka.

Quit making stupid jokes.

Oh, come on!
This is Otaru.

You're going to paint over all of it
with a false present, right?

I, Haruka, will help with that!

Alright then, Haruka,
I welcome your help.

- Show me around Otaru.
- Of course!

You're my accomplice, after all.

In other words, we're lovers,
accomplices of love and hatred!

Won't you need a camera?
Shall I borrow his?

- Whose?
- The cleaning guy from yesterday.

He's my private tutor.

He always says to me "Don't fall over!",
like some kind of guardian.

All he needs to do is
look at my work.

He takes one look at the
covers of your novels and snorts.

"You're the perfect age
for reading this stuff," he says.

"You don't know anything about
love or romance." What a jerk!

Give me a break. That's what life
is like for Shinsuke Ayase.

That's not true!

I learnt what love, romance, and all other
worldly happinesses are from you.

Thanks.

What'll you do about a camera?

I don't need one. There's
nothing to photograph, after all.

Research is Mr. Kinomiya's
job after all, right?

Akira Kinomiya is dead.

That means Shinsuke Ayase's
"Love is..." series is over, too.

I remembered them
as days of emptiness.

My hatred toward Otaru was
like a dark passion for me.

Kinomiya was different, though.

He really loved Otaru.

Amazing!

- That night, too.
- I read "Love is High Tide".

It's good. Nice work.

- Thank you.
- Congratulations!

About the place for that romantic
scene with Manami Setouchi...

I think Takashima Cape
would be perfect for it.

I'll leave it up to you.

Is this another "ice-creamy tale" of a
middle-aged lolicon man and a young girl?

Quite bold of you to write about that.
Is that what you're into?

Or is it the editor?

Lil' Bunko is quite popular with
younger people, though, isn't it?

My friends go green
with envy when I tell them

I'm friends with the
Ayase/Kinomiya combo.

You really ought to write a novel that'd
woo a real woman like me, though.

It'll be snowing in Otaru soon.
I'd love to go see it.

Snow in Otaru?

The snow in Otaru comes up
from the front, from the sea.

It's beautiful.

Seeing Kinomiya's childlike face suddenly
made me want to return to Otaru.

- Snow in Otaru!
- You're kidding!

Otaru's really popular as a location for
commercials and fashion shoots right now.

- Let's go.
- Just like that, naturally!

What are you doing?
Let go of me!

- Hey, you! Let go!
- That's it, just like that!

- What are you...? Let go!
- Naturally! Straight ahead, like that!

- OK!
- What is this?

Hey, don't photograph me!

This is the
essence of photography!

What a crazy town this place has
become. Let's get out of here, quick.

Get a move on!

It's spring snow in Otaru!

Well, this is a surprise.

The view from here hasn't
changed a bit since the old days.

Really?

One morning, out of nowhere, American
battleships lined up across that sea.

It truly was a
strange sight to behold.

How nice that
adults are so strange.

Why's that?

They know about things from
long ago, that I'd never know about.

I see. But to tell the truth,
that view I spoke about

wasn't one that I saw for myself.

It was the day after that long war
with the Americans had ended...

I had been born, of course, and it
was just before I entered primary school.

I was evacuated
into the countryside.

Do you know about
those wartime evacuations?

Evacuations?

Basically, the children were
sent far into the safe countryside,

separated from their parents, so that
they'd be safe even during an enemy attack.

A lot happened during
that time, and it was after

I had started high school
that I returned to Otaru.

For some reason, my father and I
came to this spot, just once.

That was when I heard that story.

I had completely forgotten,
until just now.

What did your father do?

Self-proclaimed novelist.

A novelist?
What was his first name?

His last name wasn't Ayase.
His full name was Tosaku Sato.

Tosaku Sato?

- Was that a pen name?
- No, it was his real one.

He always insisted on using
his real name for everything.

- So what's "Shinsuke Ayase"?
- My pen name.

I threw away my last name.
I only write "ice-creamy" novels.

Ice-cream?

Sweet and goes down easy,
but quickly melts away into nothing.

So what kind of books did
this Tosaku Sato person write?

No books. He just won an honorable mention
for Fukkou Bungei's Up-and-Coming Prize.

- Did you read it?
- Just once.

Then I forgot it.

- You forget everything.
- That's right.

Was it really that
easy to forget?

It wasn't easy. I had to
work hard to forget it.

Haruka.

Yes?

What do you think the
best ability humans have is?

Wouldn't that be
the ability to create things?

No.

In terms of creation,
humans have nothing on God.

The best ability humans
have is that of forgetting.

I think the God that
gave us the ability to forget

is a truly kind God.

If humans didn't have
the ability to forget,

life might as well be hell.

Mr. Sato?

So you're Mr. Sato.

I suppose I am.

It's like you're a stranger.

The me that's here now
is Shinsuke Ayase.

Just like how you're Haruka.

I want to see battleships, too.

Would we have been able
to see Takashima Cape from here?

Takashima Cape is further
over that mountain.

You can't see it from here.

Does it take
a while to get there?

We'd make it back by dark, as long
as we don't make any detours.

- Detours?
- Yeah.

Like the Former Nippon Yusen
building, the Otaru Museum,

or the ancient inscriptions at Temiya,
we'd have to avoid visiting those.

We're not on holiday, thankfully.

I just suddenly felt like
going after seeing you.

I know...

let's go by taxi.

That way we'll be back
before it gets dark.

I'll call my tutor.

- As a bodyguard?
- As a driver!

He's got his own car.

I'd feel bad about that,
he has his store, you know.

It's fine, he's
my slave, after all!

I wanted just the two of
us to go, as accomplices, of course.

Don't worry, I'm sure
he'd just amuse himself

in the car listening
to Chopin or something!

When I mentioned I liked Chopin,
he said, "Such droll music!",

so I gave him a cassette.

Now all he listens to is Chopin.
That's what's no good about him...

those that are
fine with anything.

So whether we're there or not,
he's the same person.

Ah, here he comes!

That's an odd jumper,
by the way.

It was a present from Noboru,
as thanks for the Chopin cassette.

Thank you.

"Nähere Untersuchunge"
"Far Investigations".

- "Laundry of the Soul".
- Take us to Takashima Cape!

You can't eat nishin-don
this time of year.

We're not on holiday!

By the way, where did you live
when you were in Otaru?

I forget. Otaru's changed quite
a lot since then, you know.

Otaru Station!
"Romantic, graceful Otaru..."

I remember this.
I arrived here yesterday.

I see.

The Otaru I lived
in wasn't like this.

It used to be
a much gloomier town.

Things look old and faded in those
old black and white photographs,

that's how it felt.

I never felt like living in a
place like that when I was in Otaru.

Mr...Ota, was it?

- Noboru Ota.
- I'm Shinsuke Ayase.

Can I open the window?

You can open it after
we leave the tunnel.

Okay.

When I look out on
an ocean as large as this,

I feel like I'm being
embraced by my mother.

Manami Setouchi from "Love is High Tide"
said the same thing, didn't she?

I always thought the same thing.

That's why I think
you're so amazing!

Those are just words I came up with
when I saw a photo Kinomiya had taken.

It's my first time
coming here, after all.

So what was
that you just said, then?

They were just my honest thoughts.

Haruka...

stop reading those Shinsuke Ayase
young girl romance novels, alright?

The middle-aged men in those stories
seem lonely, romantic and austere,

but the fact is, nice men like
that don't exist in real life.

They're nothing but
cheap, greedy people,

thinking nothing but lewd thoughts.

If you admire those stories too much,

you'll be lured in by one of
those gross old lolicon men.

Are you one of them, too?

Probably.

I'm aware of it, so I'm just
trying not to behave like it.

So in your heart,
you're a pervert!

You got me.

Shinsuke Ayase.

You shouldn't underestimate girls.

It's not just middle-aged lolicon men
that have lewd thoughts.

Even younger girls can look upon those
middle-aged guys as men whenever they like.

They're well-built for their age.

Their thighs are full,
their muscles are strong.

They're passionate, and they may have
some of that unpleasant breast hair.

A wife in the prime of her
womanhood has a single daughter.

She's a little tired
from work, but her marriage

enjoys a healthy sex life.
The family is peaceful.

The father of the girl shares
a weakness with her:

being terribly frightened of
a young girl's arousal.

What's more, he has a habit
of treating her like a child.

Stop it, don't be foolish.
You shouldn't make fun of adults.

Mr. Ayase.

I'm not always eating
ice-cream, you know.

I read more
adult-orientated novels, too.

I know what reality is like.

But, you know...

that's exactly why I want to cherish
the world of your novels.

Is it so bad to aspire
toward a world like that

even if you know
it's just a dream?

Why is it bad
to believe in fairytales?

Haruka...

I imagine it feels good
to self-deprecate yourself,

but it becomes an insult
to so many Shinsuke Ayase fans.

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean
to be so brazen.

No, thank you.

I don't have anything
to respond with.

I'm glad I came
to Otaru after all.

I know this old story,

a story about how this
ocean was filled with herring.

One day, suddenly and
completely without reason,

every last herring
disappeared from the ocean.

It's a strange, sad story,
don't you think?

After that, Otaru
became a lonely city.

Far off past the sea spray,
to the west is Siberia.

The boat we row...

- What song is that?
- goes beyond all horizons...

It's a school song,
Shiomidai High School.

I see.

I would've sung it
a long time ago, too.

- Did you forget?
- Completely.

But do go on.

Typhoons may scream,
and the seas may wild.

We go on flying the flag of ideals.

Ah, the bell of daybreak
sounds over the tides

It resounds cheerfully
on the shores at the bay of Otaru

There he is again.

I wonder if he was in school?

It's getting cold.
Let's go back.

Noboru!

- Sorry to keep you waiting!
- Thank you!

- What's your major?
- You wouldn't understand if I told you.

- A German philosopher.
- Ho-ho!

"Ho-ho!" doesn't
mean you understand.

Take us to a delicious
sushi place, please, Mr. Ota.

You'll eat with us, won't you?

(murmuring German)

"Dinner is essential."

- Sushi is good for you, then?
- I can't say no to that question.

Is something wrong,
Mr. Ayase?

Not really.

I just felt like something
like this happened long ago.

This kind of atmosphere here has given
me some odd feelings in the past.

- Odd feelings?
- Jealousy.

Jealousy?

You mean,
jealous of Noboru and I?

How romantic!

Not at all. I'm not a
high school student, you know.

(murmuring German)

"If the desire to monopolize something
intersects feelings of alienation,

people can be seized by
feelings of jealousy at any time."

It's nothing unusual.

You can sit more
comfortably, if you want.

- Sitting cross-legged tires me out.
- Is that so?

Talking to Noboru like that
is no good, Mr. Ayase.

There's a trick to it.
Amateurs don't stand a chance.

- I'm an amateur, am I?
- Yes.

You need to train
for a year first.

- Should I close the window?
- No, it's fine.

- Alright then.
- Here you go.

I'm fine.
You go ahead and drink.

Of course, I'm sorry.

It's fine.
He doesn't drink, anyway.

I'll drink his portion. I always join
my mother for a dinnertime drink.

Your mother?

That's right.

Does your mother
look like you, Haruka?

That's a weird thing to ask.

It's usually "Do you look
like your mother?", isn't it?

Adding "-chan" to the end
of my name sounds weird, too.

I guess you're right.

So, do you?

I don't look like my mother.

Not at all?

Nope.

I see.

She says
I look like my father,

but he died before I was born,
so I don't know how similar we look.

- There must be photos, right?
- Haruka's house burnt down long ago.

There are no records left.

It happened just
after Haruka was born.

You brag about having
forgotten everything, Mr. Ayase,

but I don't know
anything in the first place.

Between the things that you have
to forget, and things you never knew,

which is more sad?

My mother is
a beautiful woman, after all.

You'd be floored if you saw her.

You're pretty too, Haruka.

(murmuring German)

"No girl believes that
her own face is beautiful."

and left alone...

(murmuring again)

"The saddest thing in the
world is knowing the truth."

Far off past the sea spray,
to the west is Siberia...

It's gotten quite late.
I hope your mother isn't worried.

She rests easy when
she knows I'm with Noboru.

So he is a bodyguard, then?

...goes beyond all horizons Typhoons
may scream, and the seas may wild...

Oh, we're here!

My house is up there.

- It's so dark. Should I see you off?
- I'm fine.

Noboru will drive you to your hotel.
You'll get to ride in the front seat!

9am is fine
for tomorrow morning, right?

Don't you have to study?

Nope, it's spring break.

- Right?
- Up to you.

Well then, I'll meet you at 9am
in the hotel lobby!

Goodnight!

I'm sorry about everything today.

I don't mind. I'm used to it.

I'll bet you were surprised
when I called her Haruka.

Not really.

She was the one that
came up with "Haruka", though.

Is she always like that?

Must be hard
being her babysitter.

I enjoy it.

The way she talks
is almost like music.

You like Chopin, don't you?

(speaking German)

"There's no suffering
if you just grow to like something."

Those odd feelings started
to rise up inside me once again.

I tried to get some sleep by
taking sleeping pills I hadn't used before.

That was when the
girl's voice caught up with me.

You shouldn't underestimate
girls, Shinsuke Ayase.

Don't underestimate older men.

The girl continued to eat into
my heart further and further.

Sorry.

It was already afternoon
by the time I finally woke up.

There you are!

Here I am.

Thank goodness. I thought
you wouldn't be here.

- We had an agreement.
- That was for 9am.

It's already 3pm.
What a failure that was.

All because I took a sleeping pill.

You take sleeping pills?

I started using them
after Kinomiya died.

I'm still an amateur, I think
I messed up the dosage.

You were waiting for me,
but I was fast asleep.

That's what it was?

Here I was thinking
you'd suddenly had a rush

of inspiration, and had
begun writing a novel.

And because the
heroine is Yoko Miyoshi,

I waited patiently so
I wouldn't get in your way.

Oh well.

I'm glad I could see you, though.
I thought I'd never see you again.

That's a bit of an
exaggeration, isn't it?

Not at all!

Look, I'm all out of breath.

My heart's going
to tear in two. Water!

It's like I've been running toward
you since the beginning of time.

- What a passionate romance this is.
- It sure is!

So, what shall
the two lovers do today?

Coffee, first of all.

You have to be
awake to be in love.

Isn't love something
that you dream about?

In a novel for young girls, yes.

This is an adult relationship.

Why do you suddenly
want to go to a narrow alleyway

that has low wooden houses that hold each
other up as if they're about to collide?

There's something I'm curious about.

Hasn't the past all been buried?

This might not be
about the past.

It might have ties
to today, or tomorrow.

At long last, Shinsuke Ayase's
fresh new Otaru will begin!

We've just started our
passionate romance, haven't we?

By the way, about yesterday...

has anyone ever taken a
picture of you at Takashima Cape?

People take photos
of me all year round.

I guess I'm a perfect model
for traveling older men.

Is that so?

This is it.

I thought so.

I didn't think we'd
find it so soon.

That's because I'm the
person that understands

your literary
expressions the most!

I'm surprised you know
so much about a place like this.

It was only like that
years and years ago.

Nowadays, everybody
passes through here.

Did you used to come here
a lot as a high school student?

Yeah.

- So you are a pervert.
- No...

that wasn't why I came here.

I used to come and
see my mother.

Your mother?

My mother was...

a prostitute.

That's a shock.

It was a shock for me, too.

It was when she was
around your age, as well.

You sure had
quite the high school life.

You dreamt of becoming
a Lil' Bunko writer,

but your upbringing
was like pure literature.

It was literature that made my father
sell his own wife off to prostitution.

In other words, your mother worked so
that your father could write good novels.

- Did I say something weird?
- No...

I was just a bit taken aback,
I'd never thought about it like that.

I feel I'm completely
back on my feet again.

No shadows from the
old days any more.

A long, long time ago...

what kind of high
school student was young Sato?

I can't remember.

I don't remember what kind
of friends I had at this school,

or what I learnt from
what kinds of teachers...

I only feel like I was lonely,
as if I were alone all the time.

But I think I remember coming here
to the edge of the campus at dusk,

and smoking a cigarette by myself.

Like that?

Yeah.

Just like that.

I'm sure it was because
I didn't want to go home.

Home was where my father would
have been drinking since noon.

My mother would have been piling on makeup
and leaving the house in the evening,

only to return
in the dead of night.

There were also times when she
wouldn't even return when morning broke.

That's what it was like that day...

I returned home from
school to find my

father white as a
ghost, grasping the table,

and shaking so much
his teeth chattered.

Dad...? What's wrong?

Should I call a doctor?

Go and get money
from your mother.

This is where she is...

Your mother is here.

In Ironai.

Go past Yogima,

turn left at Ishikabe Street,
and a little bit further down...

I tried to draw a map, but my pen
hand shook so much I couldn't manage it.

I wrote down the instructions my father
gave me, and bounded out of the house.

Reading the memo I had written,
I searched the area it had led me to.

Hi there, little boy!
How cute!

Hey, high schooler!

It was the first time I had
gotten lost in the neighborhood.

It felt hopeless.
I wanted to cry.

I bought cigarettes
for the first time in my life.

- The green one.
- Golden Bats. Here.

Here's your change.

Here's something extra.

- Thanks.
- Thank you.

Pretty quiet tonight.

It was then that I saw
my mother with a client.

I was in shock.

I vaguely knew what
went on between men and

women, but there it
was right in front of me.

My mother didn't seem
filthy in that moment, though.

She was extraordinarily beautiful.

If you go this way down this
path, it takes you to a park.

That park's further down,
on a bigger road.

This is a shortcut. I used to go
through here back in the old days.

Are you scared to come with me?

No.

- It's totally different now, isn't it!
- Yeah.

What is it?

You suddenly started referring to
yourself with a more masculine "I".

Really?

See?

You were right! I never knew
this secret pathway was here.

Over here is the
real entrance, see?

You never come here
any more though, right?

Nowadays it's hamburger
and ice-cream joints.

I guess.

You may know that reality can be romantic,
but you don't know true romanticism.

That's because nobody
teaches me anything like that.

"The saddest thing in the
world is knowing the truth."

Noboru!

That young man really is a good person.

You really do need professional
skills to talk with him, though.

He understands people's feelings
in a more delicate way than anyone else.

You should listen to what
he tells you properly, Haruka.

He just tells me, "Don't fall over!"
over and over again.

Hearing you praise Noboru makes me
think you're trying to hide your jealousy.

Girls are such cruel creatures.

Here.

So, the young Sato who
came to know true romanticism...

- what did he do here?
- That's it.

That's what I'm
starting to remember.

That's odd.

When I look at you...

That's odd,

those weird feelings have
come back to get me.

- Jealousy?
- No, this is more acute.

I'm shaking so much.

So you are.

Please! Would you
sit here for me?

No, not like that.

More...like this.

Yes...that's it!

They were sitting
there just like that.

- Who was?
- You were.

Me?

You sat there waiting for me.

- For you?
- No...

I was the one waiting.

I thought perhaps
you wouldn't come.

That the world would
truly end if you didn't.

It scared me...

I peered carefully at
the gazebo over there,

and waited for you to come.

A long time passes.

It feels like forever.

I feel like my heart will overflow.

Just then, finally,
from the far entrance...

I see your figure.

Over there! Could you walk in
from the entrance over there?

That's it,

that's how you walk to the tree we promised
to meet at, and sat waiting for me.

To slow my heart rate,
I start counting.

One...

two...

three...

and then I turn
to walk towards you.

I want to run to your side,

but I make sure
to move slowly.

I grow closer to you,
step by step.

Did you wait long?

Yes.

No.

Just a little.

I'm sorry.

Today was a good day, though.

I wrote a poem for you.

For me?

Do you want to hear it?

Yes.

Ready?

"Your two black-colored eyes

vibrate the strings,
and weave the music

of the koto of my heart.

Your two black-colored eyes

blow the wind
that shapes the waves

in the ocean of my heart.

Should your two black-colored eyes
ever part from my gaze,

the koto of my heart,
and the ocean of my heart,

shall sink into the depths of the
cold, black sand, lonely, heavy sand,

of the desert of death."

It's beautiful.

- Do you like it?
- I do.

- It's like Chopin's music.
- Chopin?

- Beautiful, yet...
- Yet?

- Sad.
- Sad?

Yes.

That's because my heart is sad.

- Why?
- Because...

I like you.

Why does liking
me make you sad?

You're not sad?

I'm...happy.

Whenever I'm with you like this...

that's the only time
I feel like I can be my true self.

Yoko.

This isn't Yoko.

Who are you?

I'm one of your memories.

- A memory?
- I'm Hiroshi.

- Hiroshi?
- Hiroshi Sato.

- Hiroshi Sato?
- Hiroshi Sato?

Quit fooling around!

I wondered who the
weird guy was that's been

following us around.
What are you after?

- And how'd you know my real name?
- That's because I'm you.

Don't be ridiculous. I don't know
who on earth you are, first of all.

- I don't have any memory of you at all!
- You forgot all about me,

so I'm here
to make you remember.

You did a good job of
erasing me from your mind.

Writing worthless
novels for young girls,

using thin, filthy words to smear
and paint over my existence, and Otaru's.

It wasn't easy living
as myself through all that.

Let me give you
a bit of an extension, though.

We've reached a good point
for tonight, anyway.

A great success for 3 days in.

Let me give
my thanks to you.

It appears that it was you that
helped him begin to remember me.

You'd best be careful, though.

The love he feels for you
isn't directed toward you yourself.

It was directed at Yoko Miyoshi.

Yoko Miyoshi?

Well, I'll be seeing
you both tomorrow.

What a load of nonsense.

Probably some literature
freak who found out I

was an author, and tried
to catch me off guard.

It happens sometimes.

It was a beautiful poem, though.

It was trash.

Nothing but old-fashioned nonsense.

Why did he know the
name Yoko Miyoshi, though?

Because I yelled it accidentally
when I was looking at you before.

But you only said "Yoko".

You didn't say
the last name, "Miyoshi".

Didn't I?

Well, he followed us around everywhere.
I'm sure he heard us saying it somewhere.

Do we have to go home already?

Yes.

Your mom will
be upset with you.

My mother never
gets upset with me.

Really?

I'm sure she'd be worried about you
being with an older man like me.

I'll just say I was with Noboru.

You're such a child,
aren't you?

Could you see me
off a little bit further up?

I want to try being more of a delinquent,
and have my mother scold me.

This is it, my house.

I see.

This is where you live...

it's like a different world to me.

I'll see you again
at 9am tomorrow.

- I'll drag you out of bed this time.
- Please do.

I'm an amateur, after all.

A Haruka amateur, as well.

Haruka...

Haruka.

Yes?

Can I treat you as an adult?

Not now.

Goodnight.

I felt like something precious
had flown from the palm of my hand.

That beloved feeling seemed to call
forth a fond memory of something I had.

What do you think of her?
She's great, isn't she?

Manami Setouchi from
"Love is High Tide"...

she's gonna be the best heroine
from the Otaru "Love is..." series.

- Where did you take this?
- Otaru, of course.

What's up?

I suddenly felt like I'd
seen it somewhere before...

Of course you have,
you used to live in Otaru.

- It's the nishin place at Takashima Cape.
- No, I mean the girl.

Not likely.

It's a sign you're growing old,
young girls all begin to look the same.

I guess so.

Haruka...

just who are you?

So in your heart,
you're a pervert!

I'm off.

"Your two black-colored eyes..."

Good morning.

Do you mind walking
together for a while?

- Why?
- There's something I want to ask you.

I want to thank you, too.

- Thank me?
- Yes.

He was acting so serious
at the park yesterday,

so I put serious effort
into acting as his past.

You made a great
acting partner, too.

I felt like that moment from
long ago had returned once again.

It made me happy.

After all, I myself
am his past.

"Your two black-colored eyes
vibrate the strings..."

You remembered it?

It was a wonderful poem.

It felt like it was
devoted entirely to me.

So, I was happy, too.

Thank you.

I want to give
you my thanks, too.

Really?

Thanks.

So, you're a poet?

Well, after seeing my father, I decided
I'd never bother with literature.

- It only makes people unhappy.
- I don't think I agree.

My father is an unsuccessful novelist. All
he does is complain about it and get drunk.

So, I told my father that
I'd quit school and start working a job,

so that he could
write good novels.

- Sounds like you were kind to him.
- He hit me hard after I said that.

"Don't be cheeky!" he
said. "You can't write

literature relying
on help from others!"

I see...

"I only graduated from
upper elementary school.

If I had graduated middle
school as well, I would

have won Fukkou Bungei's
Up-and-Coming Prize.

That's why I plan to send
you to university, no matter what.

People in this world are
foolish, they judge people

on their academic history,
not what's inside them.

I don't want you to be subjected to
such frustration." That's what he told me.

What a kind father he was.

I'm sure I was unusual to him.

I had only started living with
him 10 years prior to that.

That was the only time he
spoke to me about that, though.

One afternoon, we decided to
take a walk together up a hill.

It was a beautiful sunny day.
The sea shined in the light.

"One morning, out of nowhere,

American battleships lined
up across that sea."

- How do you know that?
- Shinsuke Ayase told me.

I see.

So he remembers it.

I guess that was a
special day for him, too.

Need this?

It truly was a peaceful day.

If there was ever
a prime of my life,

that day was it.

That's what it was like.

I wanted to drift off
into peaceful sleep.

Oh no! I really have to hurry.

I promised to wake
him up at 9 o'clock.

I see.

- Just one more thing...
- Oh, that's right!

What was it
that you wanted to ask?

About your...

Never mind.

I thought I'd ask what
your name is, but I'm not going to.

Why not?

There's no way it'd be
Yoko Miyoshi, that's for sure.

But even if you do
have a different name,

it won't make any
difference knowing it.

Do I really look
like her that much?

The splitting image.

I honestly thought
you were her last night.

Mr. Ayase would look at me
strangely every now and then, too.

He spent a long time
forgetting about Yoko Miyoshi.

What a stupid thing to do.

Well, I'm off to wake
up that stupid man!

Hey, listen!

Thank you.

You were kind enough
to think of me, even a little.

That's why I was able
to come and see you.

And...

- What?
- I...

do I look like
a weird guy to you?

No, you're Hiroshi Sato.

And that's just wonderful!

"Your two black-colored eyes..."

Vibrate the strings,
and weave the music

of the koto of my heart."

"Your two black-colored eyes...

blow the wind
that shapes the waves...

in the ocean of my heart."

"Should your two black-colored eyes

ever part from my gaze,

the koto of my..."

Good morning!

What happened?

I was waiting for you
to drag me out of bed.

That's odd. If you were waiting, you
would have already been awake, right?

I was.

I was awake waiting
for you the whole time.

I'm sorry.

Let's go.

So, where will our
Otaru journey take us today?

It's a little way away
from the city, but I

think there's a hot
spring somewhere nearby.

- A hot spring?
- Yeah.

A small one in a beautiful
valley up in the mountains.

There's a river, too.

That's Asarigawa Onsen, I think.

About 30 minutes away by car.

Asarigawa Onsen?

Right.
That's what it was called.

Can we go there together?

Yes.

But why do you want
to go to a hot spring?

There's something
I'm curious about there.

I know...

how about we ask
Noboru to take us there?

You'll feel safer
with a bodyguard, right?

There's something
unhappy about us today.

- Why?
- We were so in love yesterday.

Today, I'm just confused.

You can go home, if you like.

I'll bet it's boring
being with an old guy like me.

Yeah, it is.

I'm not going home, though.

Adults may seem romantic,
but this is what they're truly like.

I feel sorry for adults.

I know that what you're
truly like is wonderful, though.

That could be because
of that young literature

fanatic that came and
challenged you, perhaps.

Or, it could be your secrecy,
brought on by someone somewhere.

If that Hiroshi Sato is the actual younger
version of Shinsuke Ayase, however,

I believe the younger Hiroshi.

After all, "If there are a range of
possibilities for all things,

you must believe in
the most beautiful possibility."

Isn't that the theme of
the Otaru "Love is..." series?

They're words, just words.

For a novelist, words are
for deceiving people with.

For readers,
words exist to be believed.

- Noboru!
- Thanks for coming.

How about some coffee?
We don't need to go right away.

- Is coffee alright?
- I'll have tea.

- Make it milk tea, please.
- Of course.

I see, you're a pro.

There's no confusion
between you and Noboru.

Please, continue your conversation.
I have other issues on my mind.

This has already become quite
an important idea for me.

If my mother actually
is Yoko Miyoshi...

- What did you say?
- No...

my mother's name is Shino,
and her maiden name isn't Miyoshi.

She doesn't look
anything like me, either.

It's kind of weird, though.

These parts of me
are shaking so much.

I always longed to be
like the characters in your novels.

It's a curse.

I'm going to become
Yoko Miyoshi's daughter, though.

That might mean that I'll become the child
that my mother doesn't want me to be.

"When wanting to
convey feelings of love,

people choose the most
distorted expressions."

I always thought I knew this city inside
and out, being born and raised here...

but looking out at
it now, with you,

it's as if I know
absolutely nothing about it.

A city like a box of broken toys,
with old memories piled up like rubbish.

Amusing, lively,
lonely, and cruel...

it's a city that perfectly suits the
awful incident that happened in it.

How did Hiroshi Sato come to meet
Yoko Miyoshi in that kind of Otaru?

Do you really want to know?

We're accomplices, aren't we?

Give me alcohol.

Didn't you hear me?

My parents fought every day.

I got so angry.

Not toward the fighting,
but toward my father who

never wrote a single word,
despite saying he would.

What are you doing...?!

I thought of strangling him,
then killing myself.

That way, I was sure my
mother would be freed; not

to mention things would be
easier for my father, too.

- At that moment...
- If you want to kill someone, kill me!

I'd prefer being
killed by you, Hiroshi!

Just then, my father froze up, and
collapsed against the sliding screen.

Dear?

Dear! Dear!

Your father is dead.

Dear?

Dad!

Dear...

The blood ran from my face.
I thought I had killed my father.

Dear...

Mom...I'm going to
turn myself into the police.

Upon hearing this, my mother said...

Wait!

If you're going to go,

make love to me
before you do.

I'm able to tell you this now.

I'm not your real mother.

Don't worry.

Don't go to the police.

Just then, my father...

- Dad!
- You whore!

What are you trying
to do to my son?!

My head split open, and
bright red blood spilt from it.

God damn it!

I walked to the hospital by myself,
holding a handkerchief to my wound.

Far Investigations -
Laundry of the Soul

I was unable to
go directly home.

My heart was wrought with unease
about why my mother had acted that way.

I ended up wandering into the park,
and it was there that I met Yoko Miyoshi.

At first, I found it
eerie that a girl was

sitting by herself in the
park that late at night.

I thought it was
a ghost, a crying ghost.

Crying?
Why was she crying?

Who knows,
I was crying too, though.

When both of you are crying,
you don't need words or reasons.

All you need to do is cry,
no questions, only forgiveness.

We made a promise
then and there.

We wouldn't ask anything about each other,
not our names, families, or where we lived.

We simply promised that
every night at 8 o'clock,

the two of us
would meet, alone.

If the promise was broken,
we would part ways.

Surely you didn't stay silent
the whole time, though?

- You spoke a little, right?
- We did.

But it was about silly things, things
that would make you burst out laughing.

For example...

- I would say something like this.
- Hey...

- where are we right now?
- And she would answer like this.

We're in the world
of our hearts.

There is nothing unclean here.

Then...

- you're not sad anymore?
- No, I'm happy.

Whenever I'm with you like this...

that's the only time
I feel like I can be my true self.

It was true happiness.
It was a feeling that transcended heaven.

I wanted to somehow
tell you that I loved you.

And then, one day...

I wrote a single poem.

Nearly every evening, we would
read it to each other right here.

"Your two black-colored eyes

vibrate the strings...

and weave the music
of the koto of my heart.

Your two black-colored eyes

blow the wind that shapes
the waves in the ocean of my heart.

Should your two black-colored eyes
ever part from my gaze,

- the koto of my heart,
- and the ocean of my heart,

shall sink into the depths
of the cold, black sand...

the lonely, heavy sand...

of the desert of death."

Just then, a miracle happened.

I drank up the tears that
ran down her face, one by one,

and then...

Yoko!

What is this?

You really are Yoko!

Hiroshi?

This isn't Yoko.

No matter how much she
looks like her, she's not Yoko.

That's what you said
last night, isn't it?

Indeed I did.

You're not Yoko,
there's no way you could be.

But...

It's fine.

Yoko is fine.

I'm fine with Yoko.

If both of you want
to think of me as Yoko...

if you both love Yoko Miyoshi
from the bottom of your heart...

then I'll become Yoko.

Please call me Yoko.

Yoko Miyoshi has become
an important person for me, too.

I want to meet her.

I want to look for her.

So from today, the three of us
will all be accomplices.

Haruka...

You mustn't call me
Haruka anymore.

I'm Yoko.

Promise?

There's no use getting
him to make a promise.

He's broken an important
promise in the past before.

- An important promise?
- Not asking anything about each other...

not names, families,
or where they live.

Promises get in the way of a loving heart.
They ought to be broken, don't you agree?

That's what I thought.
One night...

we followed Yoko home.

I felt like I was floating.

"I love you! I love you!"

I felt like I wanted
to scream it out loud.

I wanted to know
everything about her.

I eventually found out
where she was going.

It'd be a private
night-school these days.

She was studying there,

but I didn't see
any other students.

I heard her laughing.

I felt an enormous
amount of jealousy.

The only thing that
managed to comfort me

was the fact that
her and I had kissed.

I had a sudden thought, however.

She had only let me kiss her,

so perhaps she was giving this
suave-looking man something more special.

I couldn't bear to think of it.

Her face changed into something
unfamiliar before my eyes.

After that, she stopped
showing up at the park.

I went there every night,

and searched for her frantically.

I went back to
the night-school, too.

She had apparently stopped
going after that night.

Please!

I even tried to find out
her name from that man...

but it was no good.

I felt her secrecy through
the straightforward reception I received.

I was so sad.

But I was getting
what I deserved,

I was the one that
broke the promise, after all.

That night...

my mother was at home, but my
father wasn't, which was unusual.

- I was about to go out when...
- Hiroshi?

Come here.

I have something
I want to talk to you about.

What is it, mother?

You and your father...

you'll be fine just the
two of you, won't you?

He's a lot calmer
at night these days.

I'm thinking of
going to another town,

and starting a new life.

What?

Give your father
my best, will you?

Wait...wait a minute!
You have to stay here, mother!

I'm sorry.

I...

I can't take it anymore.

I remember it clearly. I was
desperate to let my father know.

I ran to Yukimushi,
a place he went to often.

"Sadness is the town of Otaru...!"

Huh? Who's this?

Your father isn't here today!

Walking around without
anywhere to go, I suddenly

found myself wandering
into that area of town.

Why hello there,
young man!

Hey...hey!

Let's go!

- I'm not drunk!
- You'll get in trouble!

Go home!

The girls hate drunkards.
Go home!

I'm not drunk!

Go home!

Go home, now!

- You're drunk.
- No I'm not!

Dad?

Move!

Hey, you!
I'm not drunk, right?

I'm not drunk, am I?

I'm not drunk.

I'm not drunk.

I'm not drunk.

Hey...!

Go home! This is
no place for children!

Dad!

Stop it, please!

Mom's leaving home!

I should've died
with everyone else!

I should have just died!

I should have just died!

I should have joined
that war and just died!

If it wasn't for these legs,
I would've died a soldier!

My friends...

- Hey! What are you...?
- Him too...

everyone...

that's how they all died!

If I did that...

What are you doing?!

Dad!

I wouldn't have been such
a pathetic lone survivor...

and I wouldn't have written
such a worthless novel!

Stop it, dad!

I wouldn't have ended
up with that whore,

and I wouldn't have
killed your mother!

My mother...?

- You killed my mother?
- Yes!

I couldn't ask her
to leave me...

she was such a pure,
kind-hearted woman.

I was foolish!
Forgive me!

Forgive me! Forgive me!

Forgive me!

Hey you, wait!

Forgive me...

It was morning when I
arrived back home. I don't

know how or where I had
wandered all that time.

There were
two policemen waiting.

Hiroshi Sato? You're part
of Tosaku Sato's family?

- Yes.
- Your father's dead.

- He was drunk, and drowned.
- He collapsed in a pool of water, and...

I believed that my
father's death was suicide.

I'm sure it left both
my mother and father in peace.

Clutching my father's ashes,
I departed Otaru.

I visited my relatives
in Tokyo, in order

to go to university
as my father had wished.

I had been in
Otaru for 75 days.

Erasing those memories
meant living a new life.

I thought I'd never return there
for the rest of my life.

So we've finally
reached this point.

That required much more effort than
writing for your Lil' Bunko, didn't it?

So, was that the last
time you saw each other?

No, there was
one more time.

It was the night before
the day I would leave Otaru.

I came to this
park once more.

I had no hope of meeting
her again, at all.

However...

A girl student I had never
seen before sat in our place.

It felt like a holy place
was being defiled,

so I turned to leave.

Excuse me!

"Your two black-colored eyes
vibrate the strings and weave the music..."

- Who are you?
- "...of the koto of my heart."

Why do you...?

- It's your poem, isn't it?
- Yes.

- But why do you...?
- I wanted to make sure.

To make sure?

Hiroshi Sato is quite a common name,
and I didn't want to mistake anyone...

Don't treat me like an idiot.

Come with me, Hiroshi!

- She's waiting for you!
- Who is? Where?

Come with me, please.

It's a little far,
but it's my aunt's house.

A ryokan in Asarigawa Onsen.

She's waiting there.

Let's go to Asarigawa Onsen!

I'm, Yoko Miyoshi is
waiting for us.

Of course...it's
the climax, at long last!

I'll see you over
there then, Shinsuke Ayase.

You're not coming
with us, Hiroshi?

I won't fit in that car.

And Shinsuke Ayase only has
to remember about Yoko Miyoshi

for me to appear
at any time.

I see...
so that's how it works.

That means ever since Mr. Ayase
fell over and met me for the first time...

I've been Yoko Miyoshi.

This will be the definitive work
in the Otaru "Love is..." series.

Isn't that right, Shinsuke Ayase?

See you later then, accomplice!

Did we keep you?

"If someone's waiting, there's no point
asking them if they've been waiting."

No need to get touchy.

SHINKO OHASHI
ASARIGAWA ONSEN.

My name is Yoko Miyoshi.

I was very sorry to hear
about what happened to your father.

I visited the temple on
the day after the funeral.

I heard from the priest
that you're leaving Otaru.

Hiroshi Sato.

I learnt your name
from the priest, too.

One last time...

I wanted you and I to meet,
as Hiroshi Sato and Yoko Miyoshi.

That was my wish.

Have I caused you
any inconvenience?

No.

I wanted to see you again.

Hiroshi...

The lights...!

Your foot...

Be gentle with me.

Hiroshi...

Hiroshi...

Call me Yoko.

Whore.

This is the ending you chose.

You believed that you were her favorite,
and decided to bury your past,

- and my existence as well.
- It can't be helped.

That's all you say,
that I was the one that did it.

Isn't it because you
did that to Yoko back then?

Back then? For you,
it might be "back then".

But for me,
it's the here and now.

So how is "back then"
different to "now"?

- Yoko Miyoshi.
- Yoko Miyoshi?

You believed Yoko was a prostitute...
No...you tried to convince yourself!

It was revenge for you.

She was a prostitute,
you saw her yourself!

The only thing I saw was
Yoko in front of the brothel, that's it.

She pushed my father over.

A young woman will do that
if she's groped by a drunkard.

- She looked the same as my mother.
- The kimono just made her look like that.

Why was she coming
out of the brothel, then?

You didn't think she
could've been someone's daughter?

Someone's daughter?

Yoko came to meet me to escape
all that had been sullied.

You took that hope and...

...no, I was the one that
cruelly destroyed her hopes.

- You can't be sure of that, though.
- If Yoko was a prostitute,

why did she come
all that way to see me?

Why did she announce herself
as Yoko, and give herself to me?

The most important thing
isn't confirmation, it's believing.

But it was you who cried
"whore" and slept with her!

Yes. That's why I was in pain.

Not forgetting that pain,
and putting myself through it...

that's what I believed to be
the sole proof of my atonement...

of my love for Yoko.

My sadness, my pain,
and my love for Yoko...

you, Shinsuke Ayase,
tried to forget all of them.

You ran away,
from Otaru,

and from me, who lived
inside you. I was erased.

I was only in Otaru for
2 and a half months, a mere 75 days.

But I lived fully
during that time!

I loved people with all my heart!
How can you forget something like that?

This is the end, Shinsuke Ayase.

If you are able to believe
in that, I'll disappear.

If you can't bring
yourself to, I'll have to

follow you around for
the rest of your life.

Haruka.

Time for you to go home.

This is where the story of
Yoko Miyoshi ends, all of it.

You're Haruka,
I'm sure of that now.

Not my accomplice,
and not Yoko.

I'm going to stay
in this ryokan tonight,

and think about myself
a little bit more, for now.

Come at 9am
tomorrow morning, too.

I...

I've been here before.

Just once, a very
long time ago.

The pattern on the ceiling...

it looked just like the face of
my late grandmother.

I remember it well.

Hiroshi?

What is it?

Will you be going back,
after all this?

Back to your time?

Yeah.

So, you'll be able to see
Yoko Miyoshi there, won't you?

Yeah. That's where
she lives, after all.

So then...

can't you start everything
over with her?

That's impossible.

What's done is done.

There's no undoing it.

That's so sad.

If I knew that Shinsuke Ayase
wouldn't have acknowledged me,

and I couldn't return to my own time
and had to continue living here...

I actually would have wanted
to start things over with you.

If it was with you, we could
have loved each other once more,

and I could have been
able to redo my entire youth.

I'm sorry, I'm only joking.

Just a dream within a dream.

Life doesn't let you
redo things "once more".

But, Hiroshi...

you're forgetting
something important.

The Hiroshi Sato from long ago is
the Shinsuke Ayase from the present.

You can still do things over.

It's Noboru.

I made him wait again.

Hiroshi...

what is Haruka,
I wonder?

"Your two black-colored eyes...

vibrate the strings, and weave the
music of the koto of my heart."

"Your two black-colored eyes...

blow the wind that shapes the
waves in the ocean of my heart."

"Should your two black-colored eyes
ever part from my gaze..."

Haruka!

Yes?

So you finally found out.

I always knew this
day would come.

- Mom...?
- Looking at you all grown up now...

you look so much like Yoko did all
those years ago, it's hard to believe.

Today...

I went to grandma's house.

Your grandmother's house?

The ryokan at Asarigawa.

We went there just once when I was
a kid, for grandma's funeral, right?

I heard everything about
Yoko Miyoshi there.

The person that brought Hiroshi Sato
and Yoko Miyoshi together there...

that was you, wasn't it?

Come inside.

It's cold out.

That was a once-in-a-lifetime
romance for Yoko,

that ended in sadness.

She even tried to
take her own life.

The person that was devoted
to taking care of her

was the college student
that was her tutor.

Eventually, she married him,

and gave birth to you.

Even I had no idea

what thoughts she
kept hidden in her heart,

but she looked happy
from the outside.

She led a quiet life.

However, one night,
there was a fire.

By the time they got there, the
fire had engulfed the whole house,

and miraculously, you were
the only thing saved.

And then...
you took care of me?

Yes.

I had to.

What about my father?
Not Yoko's husband,

but the man you married?

The truth is...

I've never been
married, not once.

What?

Haruka...

This...

this is a hair decoration
Yoko treasured dearly.

She gave it to me to
wear at her wedding.

I wanted to give it
back to you someday.

The only thing in my life...

is you.

I did it because of the sense of friendship
and justice I had when I was young.

Or was it something else?

Mom, please...

Please what?

Hit me, as hard as you can.

That feels much better!

For me, too.

Mom!

Just when I thought
you're all grown up...

you're still like this,
like a kid!

"Love is high tide", BY Shinsuke Ayase
Pictures by Akira Kinomiya

Yoko Miyoshi...

thank you.

I love you.

Noboru!

Oh, good morning.

Sorry, I'll be ready to
go in a minute.

Don't worry.

I'm sorry, too.

I'll call a taxi
and go by myself.

I can't act spoiled with
you forever, after all.

In exchange, or whatever...

take care of this
for me, please.

It's special to me,
so be gentle with it.

See you.

You don't say it
at all these days.

- Say what?
- "Don't fall over!"

That's because
you're all grown up.

You don't fall over
yourself any more.

Say it.

P-I-e-a-s-e.

Don't fall over.

Thanks.

I like the way you say it.

"There are also things that won't be ready
despite the time you put into them."

Good morning.

- Haruka.
- It's 9am on the dot.

This is the first time
we've met up on time.

Guess so.

Hiroshi Sato.

Stop running away.

I am Haruka,

and Haruka loves Hiroshi Sato.

I came here today to
directly inform you of that.

Don't run away any more.

You won't regret it?

Regretting saying "I love you"

is better than
regretting not saying it.

Hiroshi!

I'm sorry...

my chest...

Haruka...

We surrendered our
entire selves to that single moment.

It was a moment that
was completely new for

me, something I had
never experienced before.

And then I saw it, the burn
mark on Haruka's breast,

colored as if it were
the flame of love, burning brightly.

It was then that I was able to believe,
in the midst of an eternal peace.

Believe in Haruka, in Yoko, and in
the existence of Hiroshi Sato.

That afternoon, I left Otaru.

While waiting for the train, I climbed up
the hill overlooking the sea once more.

As if by foresight, the younger
version of myself met me there.

"One morning, out of nowhere, American
battleships lined up across that sea."

That was the opening line
of my father's only novel.

You helped me
remember a lot of things.

In the confusion following
the end of the war,

an older man runs off with a woman
he falls in love with, and kills his wife.

That was the plot of the novel.

In other words,
he killed our mother.

When I read that dry
Fukkou Bungei novel wondering

what kind of thing
my father was writing,

finding something like
that out gave me a shock.

That was what he was screaming
about on the night he died,

but was it the truth?

Or was it just
a drunken delusion?

I don't know.

Even if the story
is a fabrication,

the feelings conveyed in
it were real, I'm sure.

That means that my father
really did love that woman.

Right?

It means that he wanted to
die as miserably as possible.

A lot of things were
lost in that war.

I'm sure my father had a lot
of feelings of despair at their loss.

Tosaku Sato...

He always insisted on using
his real name for everything.

Shinsuke Ayase.

I wonder if you'll ever write your
own novel, using your real name.

Well...if I don't,

Otaru, or
meeting Yoko, you,

or Haruka would have
no meaning for me.

I'm counting on you.

Sure.

I'm going to try shining
a light on the sadness

of the Hiroshi Sato
from way back in my youth.

This morning,
Haruka came to see me.

She did?

We made love.

It wasn't me that she came
to make love with, though.

Not Shinsuke Ayase...

the Hiroshi Sato inside of me.

You.

You're inside of me. I was
glad to be able to believe that.

It gave me courage.

I've got to go,
the train's almost here.

I might go home, too.

I can't be absent from
my own time forever.

Farewell, I'll see you again.

Yeah.

Next time we meet,
I'll be you,

and you will..

He had disappeared
before I knew it.

I climbed down
the hill alone.

I remembered...

the words that Haruka softly said
that pierced my heart,

while the two of us
shared that blissful moment...

I wonder if I'll ever...

want to forget what
happened on this day.

I wonder.

There's no way
I'll forget what happened today.

I've decided:

if I ever give birth to a girl,

the name I'll give her...

it'll be "a distant child".

A distant child...?

That's right.

"Yoko".

Haruka...

Snow in Otaru...the snow that
comes up from the sea.

I know not of Otaru
snow, not even now.

I know not of the story
buried in that snow.

What I do know of is the light spring that
comes to this northern place, then and now.

That peaceful, beloved,
and cruel season.

I waited for the Otaru snow
to cease, and for spring to come.

Hi.

They say that one
day, long ago,

in that sea...

one morning, out of nowhere,
American battleships were all lined up.

I know that story, too.

It's a very old story.

This hill is very
nostalgic for me, too.

Really? That's great.

My mom always told me,
when the Otaru snow ceases,

and a light spring comes,
when I'm a young girl,

and climb this hill
to look out over the sea...

there'll be someone that
comes to visit me, without a doubt.

You must be Yoko.

I'm Yoko.

Well then, Yoko.

Here's a present.

Thank you.

"Haruka, Nostalgia"
Hiroshi Sato

I made sure not to
ask about her mother.

I was certain that
somewhere in this town,

she was married to a
sincere, Noboru-like young man,

living a peaceful
life with her family.

Wearing an expression as if
she'd forgotten all about the faraway past.

And that's how it should be, I suppose
that's what it means to be alive.

That's precisely why I
chose to write down

all the truths that lie in
people's hearts in a single book.

That is the only way
for me to answer for all

the love and thoughts
that were left to me.

That's what I believe.

What I sometimes find
myself thinking about is...

does Haruka still like Chopin?
"Haruka, Nostalgia" - Hiroshi Sato.

"Haruka, Nostalgia" - Hiroshi Sato

The scent of sin lies
in the act of living.

Being forgiven, and
acquiring the repose of

a cradle, that is what
we call a birthplace.

Otaru, My love. Haruka, Nostalgia.

Prologue - Hiroshi Sato