Kimi no Na wa: Echoes from the Future

Offerings

Saturday morning, April 16, dawned with clouds over the city of Nagoya. A bitter cold wind swept through the city. The noise of the wind had caused Taki to sleep restlessly through the night. But not only because of the wind noise. What made him more uneasy were the revelations Mitsuha had made to him about the problems in the Miyamizu family, even more so than the challenge of the work activities he would have to face that Saturday morning.

At about six o'clock in the morning he couldn't sleep anymore, so he got up, took a quick shower and went downstairs for breakfast at the hotel cafeteria.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria entrance, a hotel employee asked for his room number, recorded it in a notebook, escorted him to an unoccupied table and left immediately after a quick bow.

Taki sat there for a few seconds, puzzled as to what was to happen next. He turned and saw that there were a couple of hotel passengers circulating in a nearby aisle where there were different dishes to be served. «Ah, this is self-service,» he thought, feeling a little foolish as he stood up and went to the buffet. He was amazed at the variety of food that was available for breakfast. He walked around twice looking at all the dishes, weighing the different alternatives. There were so many, that choosing just a few became a difficult task. In the end he helped himself to kishimen and other typical Nagoya dishes. Before he knew it, he filled his plate with things he would never have eaten for breakfast at home.

Taki returned to his table, and was halfway through his breakfast when Ozamu Gondō appeared in front of him, wearing a rather casual sports outfit.

"Good morning, Taki."

"Good morning, Ozamu."

"I see you woke up early today."

"Yes, I couldn't sleep any longer, so I came early for breakfast."

"Nervous about today?"

"Maybe a little," said Taki, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry, today will be a relaxing day, let's just hope it doesn't rain. I looked out the window and there is an annoying wind blowing."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not necessarily, but we have to take pictures, and the wind can complicate things. Wait, I'll go get something to eat."

Ozamu wandered away strolling among the buffet trays. He returned to Taki's table and set down his plate. He walked away again and then returned with a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and a bowl of miso soup in the other. As he sat down, he couldn't help but notice Taki's astonished face.

"Ah, I don't usually drink coffee in the morning, but on occasions like this it's worth it. It's imported coffee beans," said Ozamu, winking at Taki.

Taki looked at the cup of coffee. Its aroma was really appealing, but it wasn't something he was very used to.

"I'm trying things I've never had for breakfast before," said Taki, after looking at Ozamu's plate, which looked even more exotic than his.

"Well, it's not every day you have breakfast prepared by a hotel chef. This place is not that expensive, that's why we chose it, but the food doesn't look bad at all. Itadakimasu," said Ozamu, starting to eat.

Taki continued to eat in silence for a minute, almost finishing his meal.

"Do you know how to handle an SLR?" asked Ozamu suddenly.

"Yes, I learned with my father's old 35 millimeter. And in college we used a digital SLR."

"I brought a Nikon, my preferred camera. Do you know how to handle them?"