
December 10, 2002 · 23 years old

Mari and Humi learn from their mother that their father has dementia on his 70th birthday. They help prepare their mother for his farewell and prepare themselves for the emotions to follow.

Hiroshi Takamura has a wife, Hatsuno, and a son Akira. One day, Hiroshi's old friend, Eisuke Okiyama, comes back to his hometown. After Hiroshi learns about Eisuke's past, he decides to take his job and family more seriously.

Japan, 2024. The Earth is dominated by a mysteriously giant creature (That Thing) and the group of 12 survivors has formed an uneasy community out of necessity to survive Two years later, Hirayama, the hotel owner, is found dead.

It is 1965, a time of rapid economic growth for Japan and also a time when the people called Sanka, a nomadic band of outcasts, were fading away. Having arrived at his father’s countryside estate from Tokyo to focus on preparing for his high school entrance exam, a lonely 15-year-old named Norio (Rairu Sugita) encounters three Sanka, first teenage Hana (Naru Komukai), then her father Shozo (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) and her grandmother. Taken under their wing and drawn to their simple and rugged lifestyle, Norio begins to spend his summer days fishing in the rivers and catching snakes in the bush for food. He also witnesses how they are discriminated against by people like his authoritarian father who rejects their illogical lifestyle. With bad blood already existing between Norio and his father, and a hopeless desire to become one with the Sanka, Norio is forced to confront the cruel reality of his age.