Synopsis

A remarkable crowd has assembled at the Tokyo train station. They await a special overnight train bound for Izumo, a thousand kilometers southwest along the Japan Sea coast. It is November, a time when Shinto tradition holds that the gods reside within the shrines of Izumo, most notably at the Grand Shrine of Izumo. Young men and women, and those hoping for advancement in their careers, undertake this pilgrimage to offer prayers. We observe, and we listen.