Japanese family driving roadtrip telling stories

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

A documentary filmed behind the scenes during the making of Hirokasu Kore-eda's 2008 film "Still Walking."

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

The starting point for this film was the question, “Should I become a parent?” Having come from a troubled home, and never having felt loved by his father, the director wonders what kind of father he would be. Or if he should even become one. A shojo (young girl) gives birth, despite never having given motherhood a thought. Indifferent, she leaves her breasts behind, forcing her son to fend for himself. Desiring love, the man-boy sets out in the sampled city to find his mother, who gives him an icy-cold greeting before self-destructing. These are the experiences of fear, desire and loneliness of young people in Japan. This is their Tokyo Story.

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.

Spending time with people who regularly steal from shops, Stacey gets to grips with the shoplifting epidemic and what it’s like for the frontline staff trying to prevent thefts.

Two young Japanese men travel about 1,500 km from the Utah desert to Reno, Nevada by hitchhiking

Ride along with Rob, Benji, Barney and Donavon on planes, vans and a bullet train for a two week trip of pure comedy, as they search for waves in the land of the rising sun. A few boards, a couple guitars, a little sushi and a lot of sake. These four are on the high road scoring insane waves with the locals, singing karaoke, skating with Kris Markovich, and stinking up the van as the epic surf saga of 'The Drive Thru' continues...into the mystical land of Japan.

A hitchhiker tells in flashback various tales to the driver.