Seiji Aburatani

Customers relying on a single line advertisement “Search for food with memories”, finally arrive at Kamogawa Shokudo, which has no signboard or fabric curtain. Those who come to this inconspicuous eatery near Higashi Honganji in Kyoto are people of today who have troubles. Work, family, life, love, interpersonal relationships… Although their troubles are wide-ranging, the eatery’s poster girl Kamogawa Koishi accepts customers’ troubles with sincerity while her father, Nagare uses the instincts and powers of observation honed as a detective, to identify what meals customers truly desire and demonstrates his skills by recreating them. Customers who eat the “food with memories”, which are the fruits of the efforts of Koishi and Nagare, will leave Kamogawa Shokudo, finding the courage to live and pleasures of life.

Kyoko is a nurse who is betrayed by her husband, Toyoki. She is so furious that she kidnaps Mayo, the baby born between Toyoki and his girlfriend Tokiko. Kyoko decides to call the baby Botan and starts raising her in secrecy. The couple is broken-hearted, but the following year, Tokiko gives birth to a baby girl whom they name Kayo. They devote themselves to loving the child and try hard to forget their sad past. Consequently, Mayo and Kayo grow up not knowing about each other.

The story follows Yonemura Hiroko, a bank clerk reeling from the betrayal of her lover, who is engaged to another woman. After a public outburst, Hiroko’s senior Tsuchiya Taeko steps in at the request of the branch manager, first by taking her to dinner and offering her to transfer to the better branch, and later by involving her in a new acquaintance whom they accidentally met in a peculiar way. That acquaintance turns out to be Sekimoto Shinsaku, a former professional baseball player struggling with his past and lack of confidence. Together, Hiroko, Tsuchiya, and Sekimoto invest in revamping a failing coffee shop called “River”, transforming it into "Terrace". As they struggle through setbacks and rebuild the shop, each of them slowly overcomes their emotional scars while pursuing their dream.

In January 1946 a British military transport plane departs from Shanghai on its to Tokyo, Japan. During the flight the airplane makes an emergency landing on Sado Island. The residents on the island have heard stereotypes of the British soldiers and have mixed feelings about the their new "guest." Nevertheless, for the next 40 days the islanders take care of the crew members until the plane can take off once again. This includes Chiyoko Morimoto who is the daughter of the inn owner where some of the British crew members stay.