Wim Wenders: Journey to Onomichi

I have always wondered

where my favorite film (yes, of all times)

Tokyo Story,

(or Tokyo monogatari in Japanese)

actually takes place, except in Tokyo of course.

Yasujiro Ozu’s masterpiece from 1953

depicts a small seaside fishing town

in which the story begins and ends.

An old couple departs from there,

in order to visit their kids in the big city one last time.

After their return the old woman dies,

and her husband is left alone.

Eventually someone told me

that this coastal town was called Onomichi,

in the South of Japan.

So one day my wife and I

made the reverse journey

and traveled from Tokyo to Onomichi

where we stayed for a week.

- Wim Wenders

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