30 minSeason 2 • Episode 4
LatestThe 17-year-old Yatabe Mineko grew up in a family of seven in a mountain village in northeastern Ibaraki Prefecture. Her father Minoru has gone to Tokyo to work in order to earn extra money. However, her life completely changes when her father does not come back for the New Year. Mineko asks her family to let her go to Tokyo to find him and promises to send money home. In the autumn of 1964, she and two childhood friends Tokiko and Mitsuo are hired to start working at a small factory in Tokyo’s working class neighborhood. After work each day, Mineko searches for her father and gets disheartened at times. Mineko overcomes challenges and starts to lay down roots in Tokyo as she experiences many meetings and farewells amid the laughter and tears with regulars, people of the shopping street, friends, and colleagues. But will she be able to find her father?
Production
Obsessive Showa-era detail that makes 1964 feel lived-in.
Acting
Kasumi Arimura carries 160 episodes of quiet resilience.
Writing
Asadora structure: small daily dramas that accumulate like snowfall.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Asadora are NHK morning dramas historically aimed at housewives—Hiyokko revived the format for younger audiences while keeping the multigenerational DNA.
The factory setting was inspired by actual 1964 Tokyo Olympics construction worker dormitories, with surviving workers consulted for authenticity.
JP
