The Survivors of Mt. Obasute tells the story of old Thomas' journey to the top of Mr. Obasute in Japan, a trip reminiscent of an unforgettable one he took twenty-five years earlier with his dear friend, Ume-san, an elderly woman whose family abandoned her. This story is a modern day version (with a twist) of the ancient Japanese practice of obasute, where the old were taken to the top of a mountain by the young and left there to die.