Document 72 Hours

The Jingu Gaien Fireworks Festival was held in the middle of Tokyo. The moment when people living in different parts of the metropolis stop moving for a moment and look up at the same fireworks. What thoughts go through their minds? This film looks at the 72 hours between the preparation for the event and the start of normal life again.

Many people purchase “year-end jumbo lottery tickets” in hopes of winning a fortune. One of the most famous ticket offices is located in Nishi-Ginza. The five jumbo lotteries held there in 2006 produced 16 millionaires. For the year-end jumbo lottery, which attracts the largest number of buyers every year, there is a long line of more than 1,000 people. What kind of dreams do people place on 300 million yen? We pick up the dramas of each of the buyers who visited the site during the three days from the first day of the sale.

Over a year after the disaster, we closely follow the Adatara service area, the gateway to Tohoku. Volunteers, travelers, weekend racers, and families returning home for the first time in decades. What are the thoughts of the people who happen to pass by? And where are they headed?

The setting is a 24-hour flower store in Shinjuku Kabukicho, Tokyo. Who comes to buy flowers late at night and under what circumstances? An unfulfilled wish for a one-sided love. A thank-you note to a mentor approaching retirement. A surprise for his wife who is expecting a new baby. The graduation ceremony of a mother who has been studying on her own, or the parting of friends who have worked hard together to achieve their dreams. People live their lives today by entrusting flowers with feelings that cannot be conveyed in words alone.

Hokkaido is suffering from a prolonged recession. Ten years ago, a salesman who saw his hometown's exhaustion launched a professional wrestling organization that he loved. In December, the group will hold its winter tour. In December, a winter show will be held, lasting three days. The tour will take place in three locations, including Yubari, where the local government has collapsed. I will accompany the tour and observe people living in rural areas while supporting each other.

3,400 babies per year. In Kumamoto Prefecture, well known for Kumamon, there is an obstetrics and gynecology clinic that boasts the highest number of births in Japan. Mothers fight day and night against labor pains and give birth to a new life with all their might. The program set up a camera in the waiting room of such a hospital to listen to the voices of families anxiously awaiting the birth of their newborns. A young father weeps in the hallway, nervous and moved. A little brother is bewildered by the arrival of his new family. The story of each family member who can only watch over their mother, but pray hard for the birth. 　

The stage is set at a 24-hour tonkatsu restaurant in Yokohama's entertainment district. From early morning to late at night, people from all walks of life come to scarf down the meat. A man is on his way to the neon district to get himself in shape. A cabaret girl who has come to finish off her drink. There are also men taking a break at dawn after working all night. The year 2015 was filled with flashy news, such as soaring prices of condominiums and increased profits of major corporations. How are people celebrating the end of the year? We spent three days at a tonkatsu restaurant in a nightless city, looking at the human condition of people in all their sorrows and joys. 　

Narita Airport on Christmas Day. We spend three days closely observing the immigration checkpoint, where the passports and travel purposes of foreigners arriving in Japan are checked. Young people on vacation visiting their lovers, Nepalese people confused because they don't understand the language. Some are refused entry and have to turn back... As the airport reaches its peak in terms of passenger traffic, efforts to prevent illegal entry and terrorism intensify on Christmas Eve. From this massive human intersection where tens of thousands of people come and go, the current state of the world emerges.

Hanazono Shrine is located near Kabukicho in Shinjuku. In late November, just before the end of the year, the shrine grounds are bustling with activity. This is the “Tori no Ichi” festival, which attracts 600,000 visitors every year. People purchase rakes symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. As their businesses expand, companies continue to buy larger rakes each year. A self-made businessman says, “It's for peace of mind.” Families entrust their modest dreams to small rakes. Over three days, we listen to the wishes of merchants at this Shinjuku shrine, which has weathered the economic storms.

The setting is a 24-hour music studio in Shinjuku. Not only amateur musicians, but people of all ages and occupations come here. Office workers gather after work to prepare for a colleague's wedding reception. A group of housewives who used to be in a “girls' band.” Young people who are shy around others but love to sing. Who are they, what are their motivations, and what songs do they play? We spend three days immersed in the loud studio.

“400 km Sprint! Okinawa Survival Run” (2020) ... A close-up look at the “Okinawa Main Island Survival Run,” a 400 km race around Okinawa that takes three days to complete. Participants run day and night toward the finish line. What dramas unfold over the 400 kilometers?

Sweet potatoes are a winter tradition. The setting is a traditional sweet potato shop in Ibaraki, a sweet potato-producing region. Many people come to enjoy the sweet potatoes, which are slowly roasted until they are hot and sticky with syrup. Some send roasted sweet potatoes as a return gift for year-end gifts. A mother buys them as a reward to motivate her daughter. A newlywed couple, who find joy in their ordinary life, share a single roasted sweet potato together. In this winter when daily life has changed drastically, what are people seeking beyond the warmth? We listen for three days.

Musashino Art University, a prestigious art university of art. This autumn, the once-a-year "art festival" was held with an audience for the first time in three years. Students devote themselves to creative activities such as paintings, sculptures, and crafts. A group that recruits friends and creates a huge object. A puppet show circle that wants to overcome the crisis of the ruins. Some students are worried about the future, but they are always facing paintings. What are you trying to make so far? Young people who are passionate about art for the three days before the start of the art festival.

The setting is a “rental room” inn in Beppu, a hot spring resort. Accommodation is inexpensive. There is no formal service. But its mysterious charm attracts people. The inn began by renting out rooms to hot-spring cure guests, but now it attracts a wide variety of visitors, including a person who has been staying in a room for three years, two women who came for a trip before giving birth, and a man who continues to travel alone. There was also a couple who came for a hot-spring cure for an illness. For three days, we listened to the voices of visitors and wondered what they were thinking when they stayed in the rental rooms.

Bananas called mackerel, tilapia, mutton, frogs and hot spices. The stage is a multinational food shop in Kinshicho, Tokyo. It is lined with ingredients from more than twenty countries, mainly in Asia, and people from various countries living in Japan visit. A man from Bangladesh who has been in Japan for forty years, but sometimes wants to eat his native food. A Vietnamese woman in her 20s who started working at a Japanese hotel last year. What do you eat in a foreign country in Japan and how do you live?