"I used to think that village life was too tough to bear but now it's a lot of fun, working with the guys," says Mr. Kogure, one of the people who moved from Tokyo to snowy rural Japan. Over the years Kogure and his wife have organically formed a circle of friends.

Once the locals were more in sync with nature but by the time they arrived such lifestyle was all lost. When they are restoring an abandoned paddy, they excavate an old irrigation system which connects them with the lost ways of the rural life. It's one of the serendipitous moments that makes everything worthwhile for them.

With the arrival of winter the whole village is buried under 4 meters of snow. The village is frozen over but Kogure and the company know how to enjoy life. They have each other and humor to help themselves through the long winter until spring comes and village life begins again.

 

The director, Shigeru Kobayashi, started out as a documentary cameraman. He did the camera for Makoto Sato's internationally acclaimed documentary, Living on the River Agano, which depicts the rural lives of the elderly locals and their connection with nature. Yoshihiko Yatabe, the Tokyo International Film Festival programming director, is one of the producers.

 

Some city folk move to snowy rural Japan where they learn to deal with harsh winters and adapt to a fascinating and happy alternative lifestyle