Saga: Ekimae: A Series in Front of the Station
Based on the novel "Ekimae Ryokan" by Masuji Ibuse, a longtime hotel employee struggles to bring his old-fashioned ryokan in line with postwar Japanese business practices.
The Hotelman's Holiday
Follow-up to "Ekimae Ryokan." Set around the Yurigaoka and Nishi-Ikuta stations on the Odakyu-Odawara line, the film takes up the problem of real estate around the expanding Yurigaoka apartments.
An Urban Affair
Third film in the "Ekimae" series, this time set in Hamamatsu. A widow named Keiko and her brother Jiro run the bento shop, "Goraku." One day, Keiko asks for advice from her childhood friends Kintaro, a textile manufacturer, and Magosaku, an entrepreneur, about a big-shot from Osaka who wants to invest in her shop. However, Kintaro and Magosaku suspect that things are not what they seem...
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Lunchbox
Fourth entry in the Ekimae series, focusing on the restoration of a Fukushima hot spring inn.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Onsen
The fifth "Ekimae" film set in a Chinese restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese Restaurant
Sixth entry in the Ekimae series, loosely based on the folktale of the tanuki and the tea kettle.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Teapot
Seventh in the Ekimae series, detailing the exploits of the landladies around Ryogoku Station in Tokyo, and their sumo clientele.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Landlady
Eighth in the Ekimae series, portraying competition between two hot spring resort owners in Yamanashi.
Hot Spring Ghost
#13 in the Ekimae series of films. Set at Todai University, Professor Sakai (played by Frankie Sakai) mentors a group of university hopefuls. Cut to 25 years later, the students have each settled into their careers and cross paths with Professor Sakai's son, a P.E. teacher (also played by Sakai).
A Comedy in Front of the Station: University
The 14th film in the Ekimae series, set in Nagano Prefecture, focusing on the love lives of a group of husbands and their wives.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Benten
15th entry in the Ekimae series, surrounding the then-insanely popular Weekly Shounen Sunday series Osomatsu-kun and Obake no Q-Taro.
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Manga
The 21st film in the Ekimae series, commemorating the 35th anniversary of Toho. The film is a loose remake of the first film in the series, Ekimae Ryoukan.
