The disappearance of his fiance, Ritsuko, puzzles Sakutaro. He travels to Shikoku in search of her, to a town where he experienced his first love, Aki, a high school classmate. Things he sees after seventeen years vividly refresh his memories of vision making him feel as though he were travelling backward in timeÂ…
At age sixteen, Sakutaro falls for Aki, the class idol, who is cast as the heroin in the school play of “Romeo and Juliet.” Another boy plays Romeo but Aki calls Sakutaro Romeo. Evidently, their love is mutual. However, her parents interfere with their romance by forbidding her to use their phone, so she must communicate with Sakutaro via recorded cassette messages that a little girl delivers. The young lovers enjoy the springtime of their lives and spend a night alone together on an otherwise deserted island.
Then Aki learns that she is suffering from leukemia and her days are numbered. Her dream is a tour to Ululu in Australia, the pictures taken and, for fun, pose for a photo of their imaginary wedding. On a stormy night he secretly spirits Aki from the hospital to the airport, but all flights
are cancelled owning to the storm. Then a lit attacks her. Though confined to the hospital, she sends her tapes to Sakutaro, except for the last one that is missing.
After seventeen years, Ritsuko, Sakutaro's fiance, visits the photo studio in Shikoku and finds the pictures of Sakutaro and Aki in bridal costumes. She was the little messenger girl, and now she learns how desperately in love they were. AkiÂ’s final tape, long missing, at least reaches its destinationÂ…
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Isao Yukisada
Starring: Takao Osawa, Kou Shibasaki, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Moriyama
RunTime: 2 hrs 18 mins
