is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan's submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony. The film was the third-highest-grossing film of the year in Japan. Synopsis A railway station master at a dying end-of-the-line village in Hokkaido is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter. When the line serving the village is scheduled for closure, an erstwhile colleague offers him a job at a resort hotel, but he is emotionally unable to part with his career as a railwayman. His life takes a turn when he meets a young woman with an interest in trains who resembles his daughter. Cast Ken Takakura: Otomatsu Satō Shinobu Otake: Shizue Satō Ryōko Hirosue: Yukiko Satō Hidetaka Yoshioka: Hideo Sugiura Masanobu Andō: Toshiyuki Yoshioka Ken Shimura: Hajime Yoshioka Hirotarō Honda : Miner Tomoko Naraoka: Mune Katō Yoshiko Tanaka: Akiko Sugiura Nenji Kobayashi: Senji Sugiura See also Cinema of Japan List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film References External links 1999 films Films directed by Yasuo Furuhata Films set in Hokkaido 1990s Japanese-language films Picture of the Year Japan Academy Prize winners Rail transport films Films set on trains Toei Company films Films based on Japanese novels 1990s Japanese films