A salaryman named Shinonome prepares for his junior high school reunion, dreaming of the girl he once had a crush on. He is saddened to find that time has not been kind to Saeko Shima, his dreamgirl, and she has gained quite a bit of weight. Soon he learns that he has mistaken the chunky divorcee for his long lost friend, and is pleased to find that Saeko is still as beautiful as he remembers. As the story progresses the salaryman learns to live for the here and now, and allow his memories of the past to fade and accept life for what it has become.
While his family eats expensive sushi Shinonome is left to eat chazuke (茶漬け). Chazuke is a simple Japanese dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice. Chazuke provides a good way to use leftover rice as a quick snack because this dish is easy to make.
"Students are too busy with exams to have holidays like Obon or New Years." - Obon (お盆) or just Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon Odori. The Japanese New Year (正月, Shōgatsu) is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, New Year's Day (元日, Ganjitsu). However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are partially celebrated on the first day of the year on the modern Tenpō calendar, the last official lunisolar calendar which was used until 1872 in Japan. Additionally, Hatsumōde (初詣) is the first Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year.
"My husband joined my family and took my surname." - A husband taking the surname of his wife is known as mukoyōshi (婿養子). This is a centuries old tradition that is still in practice today. Saeko Shima must have no male siblings and is of a higher socio-economic class than her husband.
"Threefold the stride of Time, from first to last! Loitering slow, the Future creepeth Arrow-swift, the Present sweepeth And motionless forever stands the Past." - The inscription that Saeko Shima writes to Shinonome is a poem by Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805). He was a German playwright and philosopher who developed a friendship with poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
