The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park

Nestled at the bottom of a five-storey apartment block is the children’s playground of Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community. Meet the neighbours who will reach out to kabahiko: Kanato presses his head to the hippo’s cheek, hoping to recover the stellar marks he once scored; Sawa, a lonely new mother, strokes its mouth, hopes to connect as she once did when she was an award-winning retail assistant; Chiharu, a wedding-planner, hopes to be able to listen for the happiness of others; Yuya avoids sports day with a fake injury, only to find he really is in pain. Despite Kazuhiko’s fading eyes from too much editorial work, he will learn to see life’s everyday wonders.