Skip to content

Movies like Wish We Were Here (2018)

The best movies like Wish We Were Here (2018) are Tokyo! (2008), A Story of Yonosuke (2013) and Ocean Waves (1993). If Wish We Were Here hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Tokyo! (2008)

    Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde, a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. A Story of Yonosuke (2013)

    The year is 1987 and Japan is just reaching the peak of its economic success. Eighteen-year old Yonosuke Yokomichi arrives in Tokyo from Nagasaki. Ordinary in every way possible, he lives in a suburb far from the excitement of the big city and commutes to a university in the center of Tokyo.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Ocean Waves (1993)

    At 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 it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Lost in Translation (2003)

    Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Norwegian Wood (2010)

    Toru 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.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie (2013)

    A year has passed since Menma's ghostly return to the Super Peace Busters. Although the time they spent together during that summer was short, the five members reminisce about what happened as they each write a letter to their lost friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Friends with Kids (2012)

    In the wake of their friends' marriages and eventual offspring, longtime pals Julie and Jason decide to have a child together without becoming a couple. By becoming "time-share" parents, they reason, they can experience the joys of parenthood without significantly curbing their personal freedom. However, when Julie and Jason both become involved with others, they discover that they secretly harbor romantic feelings for each other.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  8. Entergalactic (2022)

    Ambitious artist Jabari attempts to balance success and love when he moves into his dream Manhattan apartment and falls for his next-door neighbor.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Daytime Shooting Star (2017)

    Fifteen-year-old country girl Suzume Yosano has to move to Tokyo to live with her uncle due to her father's transfer. She bumps into a mysterious man who ends up taking her to her uncle's place after she gets lost. Turns out, Suzume will be seeing him a lot more often once she starts school because... he's her homeroom teacher?!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Dark Water (2002)

    A woman in the midst of an unpleasant divorce moves to an eerie apartment building with her young daughter. The ceiling of their apartment has a dark and active leak.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

    Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. An Unmarried Woman (1978)

    A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. It Feels So Good (2019)

    When 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 surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Career Girls (1997)

    A young college student in London moves into a flat and becomes best friends with a flatmate; the former moves into her own flat 4 years later but 6 years after their parting, the former returns to London to pay the latter a visit.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Earthquake Bird (2019)

    Tokyo, Japan, 1989. Lucy Fly, a foreigner who works as a translator, begins a passionate relationship with Teiji, a mysterious man obsessed with photography.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  16. Duplex (2003)

    When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Early Spring (1956)

    A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. No Longer Heroine (2015)

    Hatori Matsuzaki is a female high school student. She has a crush on her childhood friend Rita Terasaka and believes he will eventually choose her as her heroine, but Rita Terasaka begins dating Miho Adachi. Meanwhile, the most popular male student, Kosuke Hiromitsu takes an interest in Hatori Matsuzaki.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. The Garden of Words (2013)

    Takao, 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 start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Orange (2015)

    A girl mysteriously receives advice from her future self and as a result her group of friends, along with a newly arrived, troubled classmate, learn how to be better friends and a better community.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like Wish We Were Here and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Wish We Were Here?

The closest matches to Wish We Were Here are Tokyo! (2008), A Story of Yonosuke (2013) and Ocean Waves (1993). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Wish We Were Here?

Start with Tokyo! (2008), the closest match to Wish We Were Here.

What is the highest-rated movie like Wish We Were Here?

Entergalactic (2022), rated 7.7/10 by 544 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Wish We Were Here?

Entergalactic (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Japanese movies like Wish We Were Here?

Yes: Tokyo! (2008), A Story of Yonosuke (2013) and Ocean Waves (1993).

How are movies similar to Wish We Were Here chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wish We Were Here, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page