HIBIYA CINEMA FESTIVAL 2025 NIGHT SCREEN Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Free Starlight Screening Program Returns

Venue(s): Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, Hibiya Step Square open air screen. ※The event may be canceled in the event of a storm.
Oct. 18 (Sat), 2025 – Oct. 25 (Sat), 2025: 18:30 - 21:00
Language: Evening Japanese films are with English subtitles
Official website: www.hibiya.tokyo-midtown.com/hibiya-cinema-festival/nightscreen/
Tariff: Free seats are available.
Talk event: Directors on stage 18:30〜19:00

Title: 日比谷シネマフェスティバル 2025 ナイトスクリーン (HIBIYA CINEMA FESTIVAL 2025 NIGHT SCREEN)

The Toronto Japanese Film Festival in Hibiya returns for the 8th year with free nightly screenings of eight recent Japanese films with English subtitles, projected on the giant screen at Hibiya Step Square, just across from the iconic Godzilla statue, from October 18 – 2. Timed to finish just before the kickoff of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, the lineup includes titles that were shown at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival in June, as well as talk sessions with the directors of each film (in Japanese only). So grab your jacket and take a seat.

You should try to catch all the films, of course, but here are our recommendations:

The 35-Year Promise　35年目のラブレター

2025, 120 min
October 20 (Mon), 2025 18:30

Director: Renpei Sakamoto, 塚本連平
Starring: Tsurube Shofukutei, Tomoyo Harada

Although Tokyo Filmgoer is quite cynical and anti-sentimental in general, we were genuinely touched by this heartfelt drama about a 65-year-old man determined to learn how to write so he can pen a love letter to his devoted wife. Learn to write~?! Yes. The man, Tamotsu (Tsurube Shofukutei), had been born during wartime, deprived of a formal education, and had worked hard supporting his family, but not been able to read or write. His beloved wife Kyoko (Tomoyo Harada) has always stood by him, but Tamotsu somehow kept his illiteracy a secret—even from her. When the truth is finally revealed, he fears their bond will end, but Kyoko reassures him it will not. After years of unwavering support, Tamotsu resolves to express his gratitude to her in his own words. After retiring, he enrolls in night school and begins studying—and it unlocks new worlds. Amazingly, the film is a true story that became a national sensation after being featured in The Asahi Shimbun in 2003.

Let's Go Karaoke!　カラオケ行こ！

2025, 120 min
October 23 (Thu), 2025 18:30

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita, 山下敦弘
Starring: Go Ayano, Jun Saito

This hilariously offbeat blend of middle school angst, yakuza comedy and musical numbers hits all the right notes — as one might expect from director Nobuhiro Yamashita, whose Linda Linda Linda (now in re-release around the world) set the bar for the genre. His live-action adaptation of Wayamayama's hit manga stars Jun Saito as a shy choir boy and Go Ayano as a jaded gangster who hires him against the lad’s will.

Satoshi Oka (Saito), the earnest captain of his middle school choir club, faces an unexpected challenge when he’s suddenly dragged into a karaoke booth by yakuza Kyoji Narita (Ayano). Kyoji, desperate to avoid humiliation in his gang’s quarterly karaoke competition—where the loser gets a painfully bad tattoo from the boss—begs Satomi for vocal lessons after hearing his angelic voice one day. Kyoji’s chosen battle song: X Japan’s legendary “Kurenai.” Infused with Yamashita’s trademark warmth and rhythm, Let’s Go Karaoke! finds harmony between absurdity and heart.

A Samurai in Time 　侍タイムスリッパー

2024, 131 min
October 21 (Fri) 18:45

Director: Junichi Yasuda, 安田淳一
Starring: Makiya Yamaguchi, Norimasa Fuke

If you somehow missed this irresistible blend of period drama and fish-out-of-water comedy last year, when it was becoming a rare indie triumph, here’s your chance to jump on the bandwagon with millions of other fans. A Samurai in Time follows an Edo-era warrior who time-slips into a modern-day jidaigeki film studio—and ends up reinventing himself as a kirareyaku, an actor whose job is to be slain on camera.

Set in the last days of the shogunate, the story begins when Aizu clan samurai Shinzaemon Kosaka (the marvelously deadpan Makiyasu Yamaguchi) receives a secret order to eliminate a Choshu enemy. As lightning strikes during their duel, he awakens in a contemporary Kyoto studio lot. Learning that the shogunate fell 140 years ago, Shinzaemon faces despair, until the kindness of strangers restores his will to live. Relying only on his swordsmanship and honor, he begins anew—as a background player who learns to find dignity in his staged deaths.

Directed by Junichi Yasuda, a third-generation rice farmer-turned-filmmaker, the film was shot on Toei Kyoto Studio’s legendary backlot with a crew of just ten. Financed through Yasuda’s personal savings (including the sale of his car), it won the top Audience Award on its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, and the film’s word-of-mouth success led it to the top of the Japanese box office, as well as to a win as Best Picture at the 48th Japan Academy Prizes.

Sunset Sunrise　サンセット・サンライズ
2024, 139 min
October 24 (Fri), 2025 18:30

Director: Yoshiyuki Kishi
Starring: Masaki Suda, Mao Inoue

An offbeat comedy about second chances and rural rebirth, Sunset Sunrise follows a Tokyo salaryman who trades big-city life for the coastal backwater of Minamisanriku, only to find that small-town life comes with its own tidal waves of surprises. In 2020, as the Covid pandemic locks down the world, Shinsaku Nishio (Masaki Suda), an avid fisherman working for a major housing corporation, decides to test out remote work from the countryside. He discovers an unbelievable deal — a spacious 4-LDK house near the ocean for only ¥60,000 a month — and jumps at the chance for a temporary relocation.

Soon, his days are filled with fishing trips and sea air… as well as eccentric locals who are curious about the outsider. Their “zero-distance” friendliness both baffles and warms him. Through humor, persistence and positivity, he slowly becomes part of the community—and hits upon a novel way to keep his job, even after the pandemic eases.

Tokyo Midtown Hibiya Outdoor Screen