She has to battle with her mother to let her go to Tokyo, but when she begins working for Akikaze, she finds out the main reason he hired her was for the rice treats her grandfather made.
She, Yūko, and Makoto—Akikaze's apprentices—compete for a famous newcomer award, which Makoto wins, but has to withdraw after he earns Akikaze's ire for publishing another manga in a disreputable magazine.
After several years, Yūko is the first to hit the brick wall and can't think of a new manga and ends up quitting.
They decide to get married, and when Ryoji writes a screenplay based on a popular novel, he thinks this his chance to debut as a director, but Motosumiyoshi takes the job.
A few years later, however, he catches the filmmaking bug again and, against Suzume's protests, leaves her and his daughter to pursue his career.
Suzume returns to Gifu to find out that her younger brother Shota had revived the family restaurant with a new menu.
Suzume decides to start a food stand selling goheimochi, learning the secret recipe from her grandfather Senkichi before he dies.
After many experiments, Suzume and Ritsu finally succeed in creating a natural fan, but on the day they present it to investors, the Tōhoku earthquake happens.
Suzume is shocked to hear that her friend Yūko died in the disaster, but she is determined to keep going, this time with Ritsu as her partner in life.