Stories about people.

Stories about life.

Hometown Stories.

This is probably our last chance.

I want to give her one more memory.

This car makes people's final wishes come true.

Called "the Car of Hope," it allows people nearing the end of their life to take one last trip.

I wanted to take my wife
somewhere she wanted to go.

I think this will be our last trip.

The man has terminal cancer.

In the little time he has left, he wanted to visit a flower garden with his wife once more.

This woman is seriously ill.

Her husband took her on a trip as a gift.

Aren't they cute?
Lots of them over there.

I want her to have more fun moments.
I think that's the best thing for her.

Living one's life to the fullest...

We want our car to be a source of hope
for people living out their final days.

What are the final sights that people want their loved ones to see?

"The Car of Hope" is a volunteer effort run by a car dealer in Saitama Prefecture, just north of Tokyo.

The group takes terminally ill patients wherever they choose for their final trip.

They first launched the service five years ago after learning of its popularity in Europe.

The team receives about five requests a month.

Medical staff and others plan the trip and provide support on the day.

These contain the request forms.

This man, in his 70's, wanted to stroll
around a ranch in Nikko.

This man, also in his 70's, wanted
to attend his daughter's wedding.

There's a nurse who works exclusively for the group.

Sako Kozue goes on the trips while liaising with a doctor.

"The group has arranged more than 60 trips."

A boy with cancer wanted to visit a railway museum.

“I want to visit a railway museum.”
(5-year-old boy)

A man in his late 60's wanted to visit his parents' grave a long way from his home.

“I want to visit my parents' grave.”
(69-year-old man)

A 66-year-old woman wanted to attend her daughter's wedding.

“I want to go to my daughter's wedding.”
(66-year-old woman)

Many people want one final chance
to live as they used to do.

Extending everyday life
is a precious thing.

We'd like to help them be themselves
until the very end.

Late February, 2023...

Kozue visited a house in Tokyo

Hello.

- Thank you for taking the time today.
- Come on in.

Hello there.

A request came in from Sato Nobuo, 74 years old.

He has pancreatic cancer.

He's been told he has three months left to live.

How are you feeling?

Some days, I'm sick.
Other days, I feel great.

- How about today?
- OK, I guess. Maybe not too good.

I see.

We'll take you where you want to go.
Where's that?

- Could you show me that...? Wow!
- Around here.

Nobuo's hope is to visit a flower garden with his wife.

This whole area is a field of flowers.
The coastline is beautiful.

Lots of flowers like snapdragons
are in bloom there.

I asked my wife where she wanted to go.
I want to go there with her.

You must be looking forward to it.

- He has a nice smile.
- It's wonderful.

The last drive is scheduled in nine days' time.

He's gotten better since
we started planning for the trip.

Your husband looks so lively.

I was moved by his smile.

That's my favorite moment.

In that moment, he's not a patient.

I love seeing that
when discussing the trip

Let's see if this park is barrier-free
with easy access to the flower garden.

Only this part is paved with asphalt.

Kozue used to work in the intensive care unit of a general hospital.

I realized one day that, in the ICU,
I was just focused on saving lives.

I thought maybe I was looking after
patients for my own satisfaction.

"After hearing about the group,
she quit her hospital job to join it four years ago."

I want to learn about patients' lives,
and help them stay the way they are.

I want to nurse them with empathy.

I heard what the group was doing,

and thought I could find the answer
that I'd been looking for.

- Your calf?
- Yes.

Nobuo was 26 when he married Hisae, who is two years younger.

They both loved flowers.

They would visit flower gardens together whenever time allowed.

It was fun.
We had some real good times.

But with three children to raise, they spent less and less time together as a couple.

I was a workaholic.
Work was all I did.

My wife took care of the children
and my parents, too.

I bet she had a harder time than me.

The two used to talk about visiting flower gardens together again once he had retired.

We look so young!

But two years before retirement age, he was told he had prostate cancer.

And later, he was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

My wife wanted to go to a lot of places.

I want to take her where she wants
to go, not where I want to go.

I kept saving money without telling her.
But my medical bills were quite high.

About $150 a month.

If I'd started saving sooner,
we could've gone before I got this sick.

I really regret that.

I'm so glad we heard about this service.

We couldn't take the trip otherwise.

I'm so grateful to the group.

He said, "I want to take you on a trip."

I was surprised how much he wanted
to take me somewhere.

Then I thought I'd love to go with him
no matter where.

I can't be sweet or say nice things.

I just want to be with him.

- Hello.
- This is Kozue from "The Car of Hope."

Kozue and the team usually have only about a week between receiving a request and the trip itself.

It's not unusual to see requesters
walking normally when we visit...

...but having lost the ability
by the day of the trip.

I always worry about
a sudden change for the worse.

We want to make sure the trips happen.
The patients' health is our main concern.

You must be tired.

Tozawa Naoto, 56, lives in Tokyo.

His 51-year-old wife, Nanako, has terminal cervical cancer.

Her health is declining by the day.

You have a lot of worries, right?

But you try not to think about them.
There's no point in that.

Despite her condition, he decided to take her on a day trip as a gift.

I wondered what would be most fun for her.
I bet she wants to go outside.

Visiting somewhere and
hanging out there.

It'll mean a lot to her to
spend a day making fun memories.

It might be a bit pushy of me.

But I really want to take her there.
This is probably our last chance.

"The couple visit an aquarium."

Look!

Cute, aren't they?
There are more over there.

"Nanako loves penguins."

These two are married, too.

Like us.

They're close and together.

She really loves penguins.
I'm reminded of that again.

It was good to see her enjoying herself.

"At Nanako's request, they stay
more than an hour longer than planned."

The time went by so fast.

Thank you so much for all your help.

"2 days before Sato Nobuo's trip"

Nobuo was ready to take his wife to a flower garden.

But two days before the trip, he has gone rapidly downhill.

It hurts.

Do you think you can go on Sunday?

I don't know.

Hello there.
How are you?

Nobuo's doctor comes over to see if it's okay for him to go on the trip as planned.

The abdominal fluid is down.
It seems fine.

There's still some fluid,
but less than last week.

The doctor gives Nobuo the green light for the trip.

I think he'll be OK.

But as I said last week,
he's at his best right now.

He wants to go there for you,
and he'll have a good time, too.

You should take lots of pictures,
and both be as active as you can.

Week by week, he'll gradually lose
his ability to do or say things.

So, I hope you two will get to
spend some precious time together.

"The day of the drive"

Good morning.

Good job coming down!

Nobuo is now having difficulty standing up unassisted.

Take care and enjoy the drive!

"Over two hours to the flower garden"

"Kozue quietly watches over
the couple's time together."

My lower back hurts.

On the way, he has to get some rest because of pain in his upper and lower back.

Still, Nobuo doesn't want to turn back.

Going home without achieving his goal
was probably not an option for him.

He must've been determined to keep going
no matter how much pain he was in.

The couple arrive at the flower garden an hour later than planned.

The flowers smell wonderful.

This is the place where Nobuo has always wanted to take his wife.

It's amazing. First time here.

Beautiful!

There are different colored stock flowers.

They bring back memories because the couple used to visit flower gardens when they were young and pick stock flowers together.

- Go and cut some.
- I will.

They're beautiful!
All kinds of colors.

One by one, Hisae carefully picks the blooms she likes.

Amazing.

Nobuo can't take his eyes off Hisae.

"Nobuo passed away 7 days later"

I was glad, and happy.

He had a goal, which kept him going.

His wish to take me there
gave him the strength to go on.

When I thanked him, he nodded.
So, he must have been satisfied.

I'll move forward with my life,
like, "Don't worry. I'm all right."

"Kozue is at a zoo in Tokyo."

It says "eastern grey kangaroo."

Even if you can't live much longer,
as long as you have hope...

you can live out your life
as the person you are.

So, personally, I want to cherish
each moment as much as possible.

Can you see them?

It's a nice breeze, isn't it?