Yuki Umoto

A young writer's father returns after a long-time disappearance.

During some era, on an island that exists somewhere in Japan, there are people who exist there who feel confined. Idle days pass for men and women unable to connect, and women who can not grasp the importance of such connections.

When two souls find one another, nothing can tear them apart. Widower Takumi lives a quiet life with his six-year-old son Yuji after the loss of wife and mother Mio. Yuji unfailingly remembers her promise to him: "I'll be with you again in a year's time, when the rains come." On the first anniversary of her passing, Takumi and Yuji are taking a walk in the woods when they come across a woman sheltering from a monsoon downpour.

Centered around typical Japanese food, a solitary salesman travelling through the country for business purposes, eats at its various establishments and experiences the various delicacies of Japanese cuisine.

Kyoko is a nurse who is betrayed by her husband, Toyoki. She is so furious that she kidnaps Mayo, the baby born between Toyoki and his girlfriend Tokiko. Kyoko decides to call the baby Botan and starts raising her in secrecy. The couple is broken-hearted, but the following year, Tokiko gives birth to a baby girl whom they name Kayo. They devote themselves to loving the child and try hard to forget their sad past. Consequently, Mayo and Kayo grow up not knowing about each other.