Encouragement of Climb

Aoi and Hinata put up a real tent in Hinata's yard! Afterwards, Kaede and Kokona join them and they cook a meal outside together. They camp in the tent overnight and get excited about climbing mountains soon.

Hinata, Kaede and Kokona meet to discuss secret plans to surprise Aoi with a special view of Mt. Fuji, and decide on climbing Mt. Mitsutouge together. They meet up with Aoi and begin the climb, but they are steadfast in keeping the surprise a secret from her until the top!

The girls continue their climb up Mt. Mitsutouge and discover plenty of interesting things. The climb gets more difficult, but Kaede shares some wisdom with Aoi. After a difficult part, Hinata is finally able to surprise Aoi with a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji!

The girls reach the summit of Mt. Mitsutouge and Aoi realizes something about herself. After eating lunch together, they begin their descent. It's a difficult descent, but a reward awaits them at the bottom!

Aoi, Hinata and Kokona eat crepes together and talk about the past. On the way home, Hinata really embarrasses Aoi. Later, Hinata tries to make up with her but only makes things worse. In the end, Hinata has to think of a way to truly apologize to Aoi.

Aoi meets with Hinata and her father and gets motivated to climb Mt. Fuji. Aoi begins preparations, but her mom is not okay with the idea of climbing the mountain at night. She learns to stand up for herself and pursue something she really wants.

You thought it was all about mountain climbing, but no! It's actually about swimming! So obviously you need to buy a swimsuit now.

Aoi makes the plan for climbing Mt. Fuji. She buys snacks and drinks for the climb the next day. Even though she is prepared, she still feels uneasy. Finally, the big day arrives and the girls make their way to Mt. Fuji.

The girls arrive at the fifth station on Mt. Fuji. They have lunch and Aoi and Kokona buy walking sticks to get stamped along the way. The climb starts and they take it easy on the way up to the eighth station.

The climb up Mt. Fuji starts to become a bit more difficult. Maybe Mt. Fuji isn't easy after all. Aoi starts to push herself to keep going. Will the girls make it to the top to see the sunrise together?

Having succumbed to altitude sickness, Aoi is forced to stay behind with Kaede. Hinata and Kokona make it and experience the rising sun atop the summit of Mt. Fuji, and walk around the caldera and to the highest point of Japan. Aoi is extremely frustrated and has to descend the mountain with Kaede, where they later meet up with Hinata and Kokona and head home together.

Aoi is depressed about not making it to the top of Mt. Fuji. Hinata and Kokona are unsure of how to approach her. How can Aoi recover from such a frustrating defeat?

After being invited to go firefly watching, Aoi and Hinata recall that they once went firefly watching when they were younger. When they ended up getting lost, they were led back to their parents by an alleged firefly, though they both have different ideas about what kind of firefly it was.

With Aoi's mother still cautious about her climbing up mountains again, Hinata and her father suggest that she invite her to climb Mount Kirigamine with them. Whilst climbing the mountain, Aoi is reminded of the mountain she climbed with Hinata when they were younger, though neither can remember which mountain it was. Hinata's father later reveals that mountain was Mount Tanigawa, leaving the girls excited to try and climb it once more.

Upon finding an old raincoat in her closet, Kaede recalls her middle school friend, Yuuka, who was often concerned about her climbing mountains. When Yuuka got upset with her after she ended up spraining her leg, Kaede came to realise she had never taken Yuuka's advice to heart and apologised, after which they bought a raincoat together. Feeling nostalgic, Kaede rings up Yuuka and the two go out shopping together.

Aoi is anxious about climbing Mount Tanigawa as it involves riding a cable car, which isn't good for her fear of heights. Later, Kaede invites the girls to her house, where she explains she too was scared whilst riding a cable car, but found it less scary on her second go. As Aoi is encouraged by Kaede's words and decides to take on Tanigawa, Kaede gives her her old raincoat that she bought with Yuuka.

Wanting to help Aoi get over her fear of heights, Hinata takes everyone to Shinrin Park. After participating in various activities, Hinata helps Aoi to cross a suspension bridge before managing to get her to try some bouncy mountains.

Running low on funds for her mountaineering, Aoi applies for a part-time job at a cake shop. There, she meets college sophomore Hikari Onozuka, who shows her the ropes. After a hard day of work, Aoi feels her horizon has expanded a little.

Having made much progress in her preparations for the Mt. Tanigawa trip, it soon dawns on Aoi that she hasn't touched her summer homework. With Hinata on vacation, Aoi asks Kaede to help her out, only to find she hasn't finished any of her homework either. Kaede instead calls in Yuuka to help tutor them over the next week, allowing them to get it done in time.

On the day before the Tanigawa climb, Kokona, whose birthday is on the same day, gets some new shoes as an early present from her mother and decides to go on a walk to Akebano Children's Forest Park to try them out. After returning home, Kokona celebrates her birthday with her mother, who ran a little late home from work. Meanwhile, Aoi, who spent the day making a pound cake, wonders about what will happen after her dream is fulfilled.

The day of the Mount Tanigawa climb finally arrives, with Hinata also pondering what will happen after she and Aoi fulfil their dream. After a series of staircases and some obligatory forms, the girls arrive at Tanigawa, where Aoi must face the cable car first hand. Despite Aoi still being afraid, the other girls help her get through it before Hinata helps her ride a ski lift.

As the girls officially start climbing up the mountain, they encounter a quiet young photographer named Honoka, who had previously helped them by the cable car. Interested in her, Aoi decides to follow Honoka as she goes about her photography. After encountering some rainfall, the girls arrive at the mountain hut, where Aoi and Hinata look back on memories of their previous time there, worrying what happens after their promise is fulfilled.

The girls have Honoka join them for dinner, where they celebrate Kokona's birthday together. Later that night, Honoka gives some advice to Aoi concerning her promise, and the two exchange contact info with her. The next morning, as the girls continue their ascent, Aoi and Hinata look back on their recent adventures as they finally watch the sunrise together, realising that their promise will continue forever as they keep making memories together.

On the day the Aoi invites Honoka to join her and the others for a fireworks festival, she and Hinata get into another argument with each other. As Aoi takes Honoka on a tour of Hanno, she can't stop thinking about Hinata and decides to try to make up with her, while Hinata hear how Aoi feels about her from Hikari and decides she should apologize too. Both have trouble finding an opportunity to apologize to each other during the festival, but soon find they don't really need to, quickly forgetting why they even fought in the first place.