MIDNIGHT TAXI

Regular fare Yakumo (Aoi Nakamura) gets into Shoko's (Kotone Furukawa) cab with a woman called Aimi (Sayu Kubota) he is desperately trying to seduce. After he gets out, Momo (Yuri Tsunematsu) and Yuki (Honami Sato), who are each celebrating their 30th birthday, get in. Momo gives Yuki a piece of paper with her number on it, but Yuki does something unexpected. © NHK / WOWOW

Yuki (Honami Sato) reveals she is actually 42 and had lied about her age. Though angry, Momo (Yuri Tsunematsu) calms down and the pair become closer through a game of lies. Listening to them, Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) starts a countdown to turning 30 using the playing cards she got from Yakumo. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) talks to cafe owner Hirukawa (Naoto Takenaka) about turning 30. He suggests having a big cleanout. Yumi (Maho Yamada) and Yota (Mamoru Hagiwara) who were spying on sweet potato seller Naoyuki (Itsuji Itao) at the train station get into Shoko's cab and ask her to follow Naoyuki's truck. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) approaches Naoyuki (Itsuji Itao) to buy a sweet potato. Husband Kenichi (Shinya Kote), who arrived later, persuades Yumi (Maho Yamada) to approach Naoyuki, the father who once abandoned her to start a new family. Shoko gives her aunt Yayoi (Emi Wakui), a talent manager, a ride in her taxi, but Yayoi's remarks unsettle her. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) drives her aunt Yayoi (Emi Wakui) and Reika (Marika Ito), a popular actress managed by Yayoi, home in her taxi. Yayoi is furious over something Reika has done, but Reika couldn't care less. Later, two young men carrying bamboo brooms, Takumi (Kota Yabu) and Daisuke (Kaito Yoshimura), hop into the cab, revealing themselves to be lifeforms from another world. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) is driving two wizards, Takumi (Kota Yabu) and Daisuke (Kaito Yoshimura). As Daisuke insists on staying in the human world to pursue an absurd dream, Takumi must choose whether to leave without him or stay by his side. In the end, Daisuke decides to leave on his own, but... © NHK / WOWOW

At Gen's cafe, Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) and Gen Hirukawa (Naoto Takenaka) discuss art and dreams. Later that night, regular fare Yakumo (Aoi Nakamura) hops into Shoko's taxi, eager for a "grown-up party." But in a warehouse district, he comes face-to-face with Aimi (Sayu Kubota) and a tough-looking man named Hiroshi (Tatsumi Asa). Shoko watches it all unfold from a distance. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) impulsively completes an unfinished mural on some shopping street shutters. When a traveling artist, Nao (Riko), wakes up and sees it, she's amazed by Shoko's talent. After posting a photo of the artwork on social media, Nao begs Shoko to let her stay over at her place. © NHK / WOWOW

Yayoi (Emi Wakui) gives Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) some childhood photos when she picks her up from work. Water of Change salesman Kamemura (Jiro) boards her taxi as she begins to confront herself before her 30th birthday. Needing to meet his quota, he talks about the water's qualities, but Shoko asks him if change or the lack of it is the source of happiness. Kamemura has no answer. © NHK / WOWOW

Kamemura (Jiro) fails to sell the water and loses his job, parting ways with Otake (Tetsuhiro Ikeda). After returning to Shoko's (Kotone Furukawa) taxi, he confronts the fact that he hasn't changed. The pair discuss the meaning of change and happiness, and Kamemura decides to return to his hometown. Shoko takes the water to work and reconsiders her relationship with change. © NHK / WOWOW

Looking back on the past, Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) realizes she didn't want to change so her mother could find her. She is uncertain whether she should change now. Her passengers all had their reasons for choosing change. However, Yuki (Kaoru Okunuki) and Otake (Tetsuhiro Ikeda), who reunite at a class reunion, discover that change doesn't matter. Shoko remains lost in confusion. © NHK / WOWOW

Though living with a serious illness, Yuki (Kaoru Okunuki) is happy to have been noticed by Otake (Tetsuhiro Ikeda). Meanwhile, Otake confronts his past as a scammer selling fake healing water. While looking after Yuki (Kaoru Okunuki), Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) comes to understand the meanings of "change" and "being seen." She returns the photos to Yayoi and reveals her decision. © NHK / WOWOW

Tsubasa (Macoto Rey) leaves behind a certificate tube in Shoko's (Kotone Furukawa) taxi, with a note: "Don't look inside. Throw it away." Unable to discard it, Shoko and Mei (Momoko Kobayashi) imagine the story behind it. Meanwhile, shaken by a passenger's cruel words, Mei is forced to confront her own vulnerability while Shoko begins to question what it really means to help others. © NHK / WOWOW

On her day off, Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) accompanies Haruto (Katsumi Hyodo), a bedridden young man connected to the world through an avatar robot, on a special outing at Hirukawa's (Naoto Takenaka) request. As he experiences both kindness and cruelty from the outside world, Shoko must confront that reality and discover what this small journey means for the three of them. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) returns to see Haruto (Katsumi Hyodo) with a small gift of experience, rekindling his desire to help others. Shoko then goes to meet Mei (Momoko Kobayashi), who is struggling at work. Torn between wanting to be needed and fearing rejection, Shoko finally cries out, unleashing her emotions. © NHK / WOWOW

After rescuing Tsubasa (Macoto Rey) from a river, Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) and Reika (Marika Ito) unexpectedly confront her past. Once proud of being appreciated by others, why is Tsubasa turning away from it? As the meaning of helping others and trying to understand them intertwine, Shoko's own perspective begins to change.© NHK / WOWOW

Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) talks about the taste of love with actress Reika (Marika Ito) and her manager Yayoi (Emi Wakui). When Reika claims that she has never felt love, Shoko feels sense of unease. Later, Reika encounters Yakumo (Aoi Nakamura) in front of her home, and Shoko recalls a memory from her high school days. © NHK / WOWOW

Shoko's (Kotone Furukawa) classmate Hatanaka (Yu Sakuma) gets into her taxi. Hatanaka claims that he has killed someone, but it's unclear whether he's serious or joking. Eventually, the conversation turns to their high school days, when the two built a brief companionship through palm reading. When Hatanaka hints at the reality he has faced, his words weigh heavily on Shoko's heart. © NHK / WOWOW

Though she has yet to come to terms with Hatanaka's (Yu Sakuma) confession, Shoko (Kotone Furukawa) meets another passenger. Chihiro's (Mariko Tsutsui) recollections of coffee shops and cream sodas evoke a sense of warmth, but also unease. They are drawn toward a certain place, a point where the past and present intersect, and begin to realize something is off. © NHK / WOWOW

Chihiro (Mariko Tsutsui) is shaken by the absence of the person she longed to see and vents her feelings onto Shoko (Kotone Furukawa), who faces her head-on. As Chihiro's past and present unravel, Shoko thinks about how she should face the person important to her, and tries to find an answer. Then comes another reunion, and the words exchanged bring their feelings into focus... © NHK / WOWOW