The movie "658km, Yoko's Journey" filmed in Hirosaki will be released nationwide on July 28th.

The movie is about a 42-year-old single woman from Hirosaki. A road movie about heading to Hirosaki from Tokyo after receiving the news of his father's death. Starring Rinko Kikuchi, Pistol Takehara, and Joe Odagiri. Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri is known for such films as "My Man" and "A Hole in the Sky".

Filming took place in Hirosaki, Fukushima, and Morioka, and on July 17, Kikuchi-san visited the filming locations, and Hirosaki was the final destination for the promotional activities that began on July 17th.

According to Mr. Kikuchi, the shooting in Hirosaki was for two days in December 2021, the first day was a scene without snow, and the second day was a scene with snow. Mr. Kikuchi said, "Despite the unreasonable setting, the weather turned out as I wanted, and I felt that Hirosaki accepted it. In the snow scene, the amount of snow is too much, and the snow weakens in front of the camera. I waited a long time until the cold weather in Hirosaki, which is different from Tokyo, seemed to be tested."

For Mr. Kikuchi, this is the first time for him to shoot a movie in Aomori, and it is also the first time he has received a role from Hirosaki. It is said that he agreed to appear in the movie just by seeing the title of the movie, saying, ``By actually feeling and experiencing the scenery of Hirosaki and the living area of ​​the main character, I gained a deeper understanding of the role. There was something," he said. "Hirosaki has many picturesque scenery," he said.

Regarding the Tsugaru dialect, at first the teacher was a man, but Mr. Kikuchi felt uneasy, so he urgently arranged for a female teacher. "The hardest part was saying 'thank you'. In the Tsugaru dialect, the intonation is difficult, but women's Tsugaru dialect is charming, so I practiced so that I could express it well," she said.

Kikuchi said, "For me, I was asked to appear in a movie when I was over 40 and thought about my future career. It won an award in the category and I feel that it is being accepted by many things.Hirosaki is one of them.I would like local people to see it."

In Hirosaki, it will be screened at Aeon Cinema Hirosaki (Takasaki, Hirosaki City).