The beauty of Abashiri captured in "Kimi ni Todoke," starring Kou Shibasaki

By the MOOK Scenic Travel Life Network Editorial Team

Adapted from the true story of Japan’s sensational "bride with memory loss," "Kimi ni Todoke" not only swiftly claimed the top spot at the Japanese box office upon its release, but also achieved a total domestic gross of over 1.4 billion yen, drawing in more than 1.2 million viewers. In the film, Kou Shibasaki and Kazuya Kamenashi portray a couple whose heartbreaking ending tugs at the heartstrings, reminiscent of another chapter in "The Last Flowering of Love: One Month to Live." However, in the movie, the sweet-talking Kazuya Kamenashi is shown speaking Chinese, English, and Japanese, using language as his “charm weapon.” A single Chinese phrase — “I love you” — deeply moves Kou Shibasaki. Their first date in the film is particularly unconventional: while others play music in the car, the socially awkward Kazuya instead plays an English conversation lesson, creating an amusingly awkward scene.

In fact, this in-car dating scene was one of the first to be filmed. However, while playing lovers on screen, the actors usually need to build rapport off screen. Unfortunately, Kou Shibasaki, who attended an all-girls school, is not good at interacting with men, and in past roles, it was usually the male lead who initiated conversation. The slow-to-warm Kou found her match this time, as it turned out Kazuya Kamenashi was even more reserved than she was. This led producers to urge Kou during early filming to take the initiative and talk to Kazuya. Reflecting on that time, Kou laughed and said, “I had seen Kazuya Kamenashi’s work before and thought his acting was fantastic, so I was really looking forward to acting with him. Although he may not seem like the most talkative person, that impression was accurate in real life too. But actually, he was even more reserved than me, and the director told me, ‘If you don’t talk to him, he might never speak to you.’ So I really tried hard to come up with things to say.”

Despite the awkward start, Kou’s first question to Kazuya was, “Are Kanjani Eight’s schedules busy?” She even ended up asking private questions like, “Can singers drink alcohol?” Reflecting on it, Kou laughed and said, “I really enjoyed the casual chatting in the car, but were those questions appropriate? I felt like I was an entertainment reporter.” But the tactic seemed to work on Kazuya, and the two began talking freely, covering many topics during the in-car scene. Recalling the moment, Kazuya joked, “I think I spoke more to Kou in that car scene than I did to any other female lead in other films!”

 

 

Kazuya Kamenashi plays a deeply affectionate and devoted man in "Kimi ni Todoke." Since both he and Kou Shibasaki are from the Kansai region (Kou from Kobe, Kazuya from Osaka), they often chatted in their local dialects during breaks. Notably, in the film, he not only supports Kou, who uses a wheelchair, but also carries her several times in a “princess carry,” enacting a romantic and touching “you are my legs” scene — solidifying his image as a new-generation ideal man through this film. Speaking about carrying Kou in the scenes, Kazuya joked, “Kou isn’t actually heavy, but when I first started lifting her, I couldn’t find the right grip and couldn’t hold her waist firmly.” To master the “one lift, perfect success” trick, the two practiced repeatedly, and once they got used to it, everything went smoothly. Kazuya exclaimed, “Carrying Kou is actually not difficult at all!” But carrying a goddess comes with mental preparation — every time Kazuya lifted Kou, she would wrap her arms around his neck, bringing their faces very close together, resulting in frequent ultra-close “face-to-face” moments. These often left Kazuya blushing, making it the most embarrassing memory he has from filming the movie.