Movies Like Lights of Kyoto
If you liked Lights of Kyoto (2017), a drama and romance movie directed by Keiichi Kobayashi, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.
- 1
It Feels So Good (2019)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and romanceWhen it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko…
- 2
The Garden of Words (2013)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and romanceTakao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two…
- 3
Norwegian Wood (2010)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and romanceToru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
- 4
Not Easily Broken (2009)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and romanceA car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
- 5
Fireworks (2017)
★ 6.6/10Also romance and dramaMoshimo, Japan. The annual fireworks festival is about to take place and a group of schoolboys, arguing over whether they are round or flat when viewed from different angles, set out to find it out.
- 6
Taboo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaSet during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a…
- 7
My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday (2016)
★ 7.5/10Also romance and dramaTakatoshi Minamiyama majors in art at an university in Kyoto. On the train to the school, he sees Emi Fukuju and falls in love with her at first sight. Gathering up all his courage, he speaks to her. They begin to date…
- 8
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also romance and dramaShaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see…
- 9
Ocean Waves (1993)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and romanceAt Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking…
- 10
Haru (1996)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and romanceA young Tokyo businessman joins an online movie forum and develops a special bond with one of its members through back and forth e-mails.
- 11
Roujin Z (1991)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaMr. Takazawa, an elderly invalid who is cared for at his home by Haruko, a young nursing student, is chosen by the Japanese Ministry of Public Welfare to test the Z-001, a computerized hospital bed with robotic…
- 12
Love Everlasting (2016)
★ 7.4/10Also romance and dramaBridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
- 13
Bleach the Movie: Fade to Black (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaA strange disturbance in the World of the Living sends Ichigo and Kon to the Soul Society, where the Seireitei has been devastated by an explosion of reishi and Rukia is missing. Stranger still, none of the Soul…
- 14
Hello World (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also romance and dramaA shy high schooler in Kyoto meets a man claiming to be his future self, who tells him he’s hacked into the past to save their first love.
- 15
Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and romancePlagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and…
- 16
The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romanceA widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
- 17
Newness (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also romance and dramaIn contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
- 18
Fruits Basket -prelude- (2022)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and romanceKyoko, who couldn't believe anything in the world and lived a desolate life, meets Katsuya Honda, who has been assigned as an educational trainee. She is at the mercy of Katsuya, who is rude and has a strong habit, and…
- 19
His Motorbike, Her Island (1986)
★ 7.7/10Also romance and dramaKo, a motorbike enthusiast from the city wandering the Japanese countryside, falls for the carefree local Miyo and teaches her how to ride. When Miyo proves herself a biker prodigy, Ko begins to fear she's destined to…
- 20
My Fault: London (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romance18-year-old Noah moves from America to London, with her mother who's recently fallen in love with William, a wealthy British businessman. Noah meets William’s son, bad-boy Nick, and soon discovers there is an…