Kotori's adventure takes place in Hokkaido (the northernmost island of the archipelago) in winter, in the snow. Kotori is staying at her uncle and cousin's together with her parents as they visit the nature parks where the cranes live. The cranes dance and jump to prove their love. The show is enchanting. But in a corner of the sanctuary she spots a pair of cranes, one of which is dying. This is Kotori's first experience of death and dying. Thanks to her gift for communicating with animals, she understands that the solitary crane has found two new companions, one of which is in fact one of her young, now grown up.