The Hills head for Japan so Cotton can make amends with a woman from his past. But there's a huge surprise awaiting them.
Tropes:
- Aborted Arc: Luanne is tasked with caring for Ladybird while the Hills are away and when Ladybird doesn't respond at all when Luanne tries to wake her up, she mistakenly thinks Ladybird died and runs off, returning a short time later with an identical female bloodhound with no collar. After removing Ladybird's collar, she attempts to move her with a shovel. Ladybird abruptly wakes up and begins chasing the other dog in circles around Luanne, which results in Luanne being unable to tell which collarless bloodhound is Ladybird and which is the one she brought from the pound. She's last seen stating she'll tell Hank she learned cloning at school while walking the two bloodhounds before mistaking Bill and Dale's shadows in the house for those of burglars and calls the cops with no explanation of which bloodhound is the real Ladybird and what was done with the other dog.
- Berserk Button: Junichiro bluntly states he hates Cotton and refuses to acknowlege him as his true father. This enrages Cotton and causes him to go on a rampage which he intends to cap off by spitting in the Japanese emperor's face. Thankfully, Hank and Junichiro reach the ceremony in time for Junichiro to apologize and accept Cotton as his father, leading to the latter swallowing his mouthful of spit and graciously accepting the Emperor's medal.
- Big Eater: Wataru does nothing but eat, even when things turn violent. Per Junichiro, he spends every morning fishing for mackerel.
- Closet Sublet: The Hills spend their entire vacation jammed into what appears to be a very small hotel room, believing that all Japanese hotels are designed this way. As they're about to head home, Junichiro opens a sliding door to reveal that the "room" is only the sitting area for a large and sumptuous suite.
- Grew a Spine: When politeness doesn't get results for Junichiro, Hank encourages Junichiro to be more forward and proactive in getting what he wants, which ends up working out for him.
- Kavorka Man: Cotton Hill reveals that he had slept with around 273 different women throughout his life.
- Trespassing Hero: Dale and Bill's subplot has them in charge of collecting Hank's newspapers while they're on vacation. Dale decides to break into their house and turn on the lights so it looks like the Hills are home (so they won't get robbed), but this eventually leads to Dale and Bill breaking into their house and wearing Hank and Peggy's clothes.
- Special Guest: David Carradine as Junichiro and Seiko Matsuda as the Reporter.
- Spiteful Spit: Cotton's entire plan. Hank and Junichiro successfully talk him down.
- The Voiceless: Junichiro's stepfather, Wataru, gets no lines, and spends all of the dinner stuffing his mouth.
- Wartime Romance: Or at least very early post-war romance. Cotton and Michiko carry on an affair for some time during the days after the war. But despite fighting it, Cotton is forcibly returned home eventually.
- Wham Line: As the Hills were checking out, Junichiro reveals something about their cramp hotel.Junichiro: Surely you did not spend entire vacation in sitting room?
- Wham Shot: The Hills arrive at the widow's apartment, and a man answers the door. A man who looks exactly like a Japanese Hank.
