The best Hidetaka Yoshioka’s family movies

This is the story between single mother housekeeper and mathematics professor,who has a brain damage.

Takeshi arrives in a small village in the Hokuriku region. There, he begins to work at a small factory which makes shiokara (salted fish paste). Through the introduction of the CEO of the factory, he begins to live in at an old and cheap apartment building. One day, his apartment building neighbor Kozo visits Takeshi and asks to take a bath in his bathroom. Since then, Takeshi begins to make relations with the residents at the apartment building and he becomes friends with Kozo. Later, Kozo learns the secret on why Takeshi came to the village.

Following the death of the unmarried and childless Taki, Takeshi, a young relative of hers, discovers several pages of closely written lines in which the old lady has recorded her memories. This is how he learns the truth about her youth working as a housemaid and nanny for the Hirai family in a little house in Tokyo with a red gabled roof.

Tsubame (Kaya Kiyohara) is a 14-year-old girl. She has a crush on university student Toru (Kentaro Ito), who lives in the same neighborhood. Tsubame lives in a warm environment with her father Toshio (Hidetaka Yoshioka) and stepmother Asako (Maki Sakai), but, one day, she learns that Asako is pregnant. She feels left out because of her stepmother's pregnancy and she also feels frustrated because she can't reveal her love to Toru. The rooftop of her calligraphy class is the only place where Tsubame can find solace. There, she feels the wind and looks up at the stars. One night, Tsubame goes on the rooftop as usual. She finds a strange kickboard scooter and a mysterious old woman Hoshi-baa (Kaori Momoi) appears in front of her.

The film is about poor children and 'The Kids' Diner', a place where they can go to get free or cheap food.