Synopsis

Otomatsu Sato is a small-town stationmaster in northern Japan and a true railroad man: honest, firm and loyal. He is nearing retirement age, and the now-unprofitable branch line on which he has spent most of his life is reaching its end. Uncommonly faithful, he couldn't leave his station even when his only daughter suddenly fell ill and died. Similarly, when his beloved wife died in a hospital, he stayed on the job so long that he failed to see her before she breathed her last. Deep in his heart he regrets what he lost for the sake of the railroad. Nevertheless, he can do nothing but stand on the platform in gently falling snow, as if punishing himself. One winter day, a lovely little girl appears in front of him on the platform. She is a stranger to him, but the doll in her hands somehow attracts his attention. After a few words of conversation, she runs away like a breeze. This brief encounter launches what might be called a miracle, one that graces his final days, as if a reward for his long-suffering dedication to the railroad.

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