On my flights to and from Japan:
Saw:
Miracle Apples / Kiseki no ringo / 奇跡のリンゴ (2013) - based on a true story about a man in Aomori, Japan's apple growing area who decides to give up using pesticides to grow apples and go organic. Also stars Tsutomu Yamazaki (who also starred in Departures).
Ore wa Mada Honki Dashitenai Dake / I'll give it my all... tomorrow / 俺はまだ本気出してないだけ 通常版 (2013) - comedy about a divorced man living with his father and daughter who gives up his job and eventually decides to become a manga artist and how that influences the people around him.
The Road Less Travelled (can't find it by that name on imdb.com or wikipedia) - story about a 17 year old from Kyushu who makes up a story about visiting Tokyo then actually goes to Tokyo to provide evidence that he actually went there, then misses his flight home and the combination of lies and truth to his parents and others whilst having adventures getting home.
"Fly Dakota Fly" (can't find it by that name on imdb.com or wikipedia) - historical fiction about a British air crew in a DC3 Dakota flying to Japan from Manchuria in 1946 and having to make a forced landing on a beach on Sado Island, which has historically been a place of exile in Japan. Good use of English, Japanese, and use and non-use of subtitles to give a good impression of how the British and the Japanese overcame language and other barriers.
Enjoyed them all.
In Japan, saw The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) / Kaguyahime no monogatari / かぐや姫の物語
http://kaguyahime-monogatari.jp/ at the Picadilly cinema Shinjuku. This was the second session of the day on opening day so I was glad to be able to get a ticket and see it. They also sold souvenir postcards in the merchandise shop at the cinema.
