One Bowl of Kakesoba (1992)
Set in Sapporo during the oil crisis of the early '70s, the film centers on the Hokkaitei soba stand run by a stoic patriarch and his perky wife. One New Year's day, a haggard-looking mother and her two adorable moppets poke their heads into the restaurant and ask for a single bowl of kakesoba. Noticing that the trio is looking a little low in the heels, she puts in an extra scoop of noodles. The youngest boy declares that the soba is delicious. The next year, the same threesome appears again asking for one bowl of kakesoba. This time the old man dumps in two helpings. He is struck by how much the youngest looks like their own son who was hit by a truck three years previous. The following year, the three return and this time the mother tells her story...
Director:
Katsumi Nishikawa
Writer:
Ai Nagai
![]() |
Tsunehiko Watase as Proprietor of Hokkaitei |
![]() |
Pinko Izumi as Mother |
![]() |
Shingo Tsurumi as Elder brother |
![]() |
Masaya Obi as Elder brother as a boy |
![]() |
Hidetsugu Takiguchi as Younger brother as a boy |
![]() |
Kōen Okumura as |
![]() |
Leonard Kuma as |
![]() |
Shingo Yanagisawa as |
![]() |
Shino Ikenami as |
![]() |
Kazumi Kawai as Masayo |
![]() |
Wataru Shihôdô as Hattori |
![]() |
Hiroshi Tamaoki as |
![]() |
Sayuri Kokusho as |
![]() |
Midori Kanazawa as |
![]() |
Takako Sasuga as (voice) |
![]() |
Etsuko Ichihara as Narration (voice) |
![]() |
Yoshie Ichige as Proprietress of Hokkaitei |
| Production | Matsuo Takahashi | Executive Producer |
| Production | Yuzo Irie | Executive Producer |
| Art | Akiyoshi Satani | Art Direction |
| Camera | Kuratarō Takamura | Director of Photography |
| Production | Kaoru Tomihara | Executive Producer |
| Production | Shinji Nakagawa | Executive Producer |
| Crew | Eiji Kimura | Sound Recordist |
| Production | Hikoji Ueda | Executive Producer |
| Writing | Ai Nagai | Screenplay |
| Editing | Akira Suzuki | Editor |
| Sound | Toshiyuki Watanabe | Original Music Composer |
| Directing | Katsumi Nishikawa | Director |
| Directing | Kazuhiko Ishida | Assistant Director |
| Lighting | Mitsuo Onishi | Lighting Technician |
| Production | Tadahiko Nobe | Producer |
| Writing | Ryohei Kuri | Original Story |