Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano), a loud-mouthed drifter with a chip on his shoulder, is forced to accompany Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi), an 8-year-old orphan, on a trip to meet his mother for the first time. Their unlikely pairing results in a child's journey of wonder. After leaving the city, the duo's summertime excursion takes them into the Japanese countryside, where nature's beauty is punctuated by encounters with strange and dangerous characters.