The hardest part of living in Boston is being so far away from my family. Tokyo Story is about a couple in their 60's who wish to visit two of their children, who live a day's train ride away. Also in Tokyo is the widow of their second son, who died in the war. The two children are not awful people, but they lead busy lives, and can't take time off to show their parents around the city. The daughter-in-law does spend a day sightseeing with them. Perhaps it's because she's less busy than the others, perhaps not. Certainly she seems more eager to please the couple, but isn't that just how in-laws normally are?
One could say that Tokyo Story is a morality tale about filial piety, but I think that approach would miss the point. Tokyo Story is really a story about people doing the best they can to balance their own affairs with their sense of duty. For all that the daughter-in-law respects the couple, the couple would rather she remarry. Certainly she'd be happier if she did.
Ozu's films are tremendously peaceful - I relish the warm calmness that begins each time I start one. I don't think it's a good idea to attribute the slow pace, which can be off-putting to many viewers, solely to cultural differences. Ozu knew that peacefulness, happiness, and even euphoria can exist simulataneously with a sense of loss and disappointment. Tokyo Story is one of the few films that can bring me to tears, but it's still a film I love to revisit often.
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