Ekimae: A Series in Front of the Station
Toho's influential 24-entry ensemble comedy anthology series about the people who live and work around train stations, whether urban or rural.
Included Movies
The Hotelman's Holiday
Based on the novel "Ekimae Ryokan" by Masuji Ibuse, a longtime hotel employee struggles to bring his old-fashioned ryokan in line with postwar Japanese business practices.
An Urban Affair
Follow-up to "Ekimae Ryokan." Set around the Yurigaoka and Nishi-Ikuta stations on the Odakyu-Odawara line, the film takes up the problem of real estate around the expanding Yurigaoka apartments.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Lunchbox
Third film in the "Ekimae" series, this time set in Hamamatsu. A widow named Keiko and her brother Jiro run the bento shop, "Goraku." One day, Keiko asks for advice from her childhood friends Kintaro, a textile manufacturer, and Magosaku, an entrepreneur, about a big-shot from Osaka who wants to invest in her shop. However, Kintaro and Magosaku suspect that things are not what they seem...
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen
Fourth entry in the Ekimae series, focusing on the restoration of a Fukushima hot spring inn.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese Restaurant
The fifth "Ekimae" film set in a Chinese restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Teapot
Sixth entry in the Ekimae series, loosely based on the folktale of the tanuki and the tea kettle.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Landlady
Seventh in the Ekimae series, detailing the exploits of the landladies around Ryogoku Station in Tokyo, and their sumo clientele.
Hot Spring Ghost
Eighth in the Ekimae series, portraying competition between two hot spring resort owners in Yamanashi.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: University
#13 in the Ekimae series of films. Set at Todai University, Professor Sakai (played by Frankie Sakai) mentors a group of university hopefuls. Cut to 25 years later, the students have each settled into their careers and cross paths with Professor Sakai's son, a P.E. teacher (also played by Sakai).
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Benten
The 14th film in the Ekimae series, set in Nagano Prefecture, focusing on the love lives of a group of husbands and their wives.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Manga
15th entry in the Ekimae series, surrounding the then-insanely popular Weekly Shounen Sunday series Osomatsu-kun and Obake no Q-Taro.
A Hundred-Years' Comedy in Front of the Station
The 21st film in the Ekimae series, commemorating the 35th anniversary of Toho. The film is a loose remake of the first film in the series, Ekimae Ryoukan.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Pier
The 24th and final entry in the Ekimae series, set at Takamatsu Station in Kagawa Prefecture, formerly known for its ferry service to the Seto Inland Sea.