Hokkaido Shinbun Press

The seaside city of Kaitan is not a happy place – the shipyard is downsizing due to poor economic conditions, and the city’s residents are about to face another harsh northern winter. Sketches of Kaitan City offers five of the many stories concurrently happening in this city – A shipyard worker (Takehara Pistol) who has lost his job and can’t afford to take care of his younger sister (Tanimura Mitsuki), an old woman (Nakazato Aki) who refuses to give up her home for redevelopment facing forced eviction, a planetarium owner (Kobayashi Kaoru) whose relationship with his family is quickly deteriorating, a young owner of a gas cylinder company (Kase Ryo) with plenty to be frustrated about, and a streetcar driver (Nishibori Shigeki) whose only son (Miura Masaki) refuses to visit him on a trip home from Tokyo. These characters may not seem like they have much to celebrate about on this New Year’s Eve, but they each discover their own way to continue their lives.