Ekimae: A Series in Front of the Station

13 Movies

Toho's influential 24-entry ensemble comedy anthology series about the people who live and work around train stations, whether urban or rural.

All Movies in Collection

The Hotelman's Holiday

1958

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.

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An Urban Affair

1961

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.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Lunchbox

1961

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...

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen

1962

Fourth entry in the Ekimae series, focusing on the restoration of a Fukushima hot spring inn.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese Restaurant

1962

The fifth "Ekimae" film set in a Chinese restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Teapot

1963

Sixth entry in the Ekimae series, loosely based on the folktale of the tanuki and the tea kettle.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Landlady

1964

Seventh in the Ekimae series, detailing the exploits of the landladies around Ryogoku Station in Tokyo, and their sumo clientele.

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Hot Spring Ghost

1964

Eighth in the Ekimae series, portraying competition between two hot spring resort owners in Yamanashi.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: University

1965

#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).

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Benten

1966

The 14th film in the Ekimae series, set in Nagano Prefecture, focusing on the love lives of a group of husbands and their wives.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Manga

1966

15th entry in the Ekimae series, surrounding the then-insanely popular Weekly Shounen Sunday series Osomatsu-kun and Obake no Q-Taro.

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A Hundred-Years' Comedy in Front of the Station

1967

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.

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A Comedy in Front of the Station: Pier

1969

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.

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