Kita Kita 2017

Lea is a Filipina tour guide living in Sapporo, Japan who is engaged to Nobu, a young Japanese man. One night, after receiving a note to meet up at a beer house, she discovers her fiancé flirting with her friend. Rather than lash out, she quietly counts from one to ten, and with each number she recalls the warm memories she shared with him. But as she steps outside, a sudden bout of stress-induced blindness overwhelms her and she collapses.

The next phase of Lea’s life unfolds in shadow and struggle as she learns to navigate a world without sight. Sometime later, her Filipino next-door neighbor, Tonyo, introduces himself and makes genuine efforts to help—he cooks for her and does his best to lift her spirits, even when she pushes him away. Slowly, he earns her trust, and he convinces her to let him guide her through the city. Together they explore Sapporo’s streets and sights, with Tonyo serving as Lea’s eyes and steadying presence. What begins as dependency deepens into a tender bond, and they start to dream about revisiting every corner they’ve seen once Lea’s sight returns. They even stage a small, symbolic wedding moment, during which Tonyo gives Lea a Daruma doll—a Japanese charm believed to grant wishes—and wishes for her recovery.

On a date night, Tonyo steps away to fetch a stuffed toy he plans to bring as a surprise. As Lea’s vision begins to return, she first sees him waving from the far side of the road, filled with joy. He races toward her, but a vehicle strikes him, and he dies in a sudden, heartbreaking twist of fate.

Grief-stricken, Lea visits his home and uncovers a letter he left behind. It explains that Tonyo had moved from Tokyo to Sapporo after a broken heart, and that Lea had actually met him earlier in a different guise. He had been the drifter who slept on the street in front of her house, whom she had kept warm with stir-fried cabbage and a blanket. Moved by her kindness, he resolved to better himself and chose to live nearby. The revelation stretches further: the playful banana mascot Lea had spent a night with, unknowingly to her, was also Tonyo. He was the one who sent the note inviting her to the beer house and who carried her home after she collapsed. The letter also reveals that Tonyo carried a hidden burden—a heart condition that had enlarged his heart since he was nine years old and could burst at any moment, fueling his desire to seize every moment for Lea.

Overcome by memory and sorrow, Lea resolves to honor her vow by retracing every place they visited together, this time with a blindfold as a lasting tribute to their shared journey.