In 1940, Masaaki Takaoka works as a teacher in the agricultural division at a youth training institute. Although Japan’s defeat seems imminent, all of Masaaki’s students are drafted in a futile last-ditch effort. In an attempt to give the young men some hope, he makes everyone promise that they will all meet again under the cherry blossoms upon their safe return. Consumed by sadness over the fate of his students, Masaaki devotes the next 30 years of his life to develop a new species of cherry blossoms that could thrive in any climate in remembrance of his students.

Yoko the Cherry Blossom

Toko Amano worked as a detective, but to take care of her sick husband she quit her job. After her husband passed away, Toko Amano now works as a crisis management expert.  3 days ago, Toko Amano's former mother-in-law rode on an express train with beds. She witnessed a man strangling a woman and told the train conductor, but he thought she imagined it. The police later searched for the woman's body, but could not find her.  Toko Amano boards the same express train that her former mother-in-law rode. She looks for the dead body.