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Poppoya

1999 Japanese film

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated July 24, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Poppoya (鉄道員（ぽっぽや）, Poppoya), also known as The Railroad Man, is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan's submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony. The film was the third-highest-grossing film of the year in Japan.

01Synopsis

A railway station master at a dying end-of-the-line village in Hokkaido is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter. When the line serving the village is scheduled for closure, an erstwhile colleague offers him a job at a resort hotel, but he is emotionally unable to part with his career as a railwayman. His life takes a turn when he meets a young woman with an interest in trains who resembles his daughter.

02Cast

Watch videos about PoppoyaExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Poppoya”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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