After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he is sent to Kamusari Village for a year of work experience - where he becomes assimilated with the beauty of nature and the warm-hearted people of the village.
Cinematography
Mie Prefecture forests deserve billing.
Acting
Sometani's panic-to-peace arc is chef's kiss.
Score
Folk-adjacent warmth, zero manipulation.
Director
Shinobu Yaguchi
Shota Sometani
Yuki Hirano
Masami Nagasawa
Naoki Ishii
Hideaki Ito
Yoki Iida
Yûka
Miki Iida
Naomi Nishida
Yuko Nakamura
Makita Sports
Iwao Tanabe
Masashi Arifuku
Saburo Oyama
Yoshimasa Kondo
Forestry Association Director
Ken Mitsuishi
Seiichi Nakamura
Akira Emoto
Toshiro Yamane
Nana Seino
Reina Takahashi
Yuki Furukawa
Shoji Hasegawa
Daikichi Sugawara
Yuki's Father
Yuriko Hirooka
Yuki's Mother
Ken Aoki
Chikara Naito
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Shion Miura's novel; she visited actual forestry trainees and swiped their stories wholesale.
Part of Japan's 'iyashikei' (healing) genre boom — post-2011 Tohoku earthquake cinema that sought rural comfort over urban anxiety.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
JP
