Yoshio Hori is 22 and unlucky, with a hair in his hand so no job, lots of fantasies but no girlfriend. Yet he persists in living in his filthy room in the dubiously named Dokudami residence (Dokudami means bad seed in Japanese).

The Drifter of Tokyo is a humorous portrait of a loser who wanders from setback to setback. In the course of his encounters, the entire population of Tokyo's underworld comes to light, ridiculous, petty and endearing. Unlucky Yoshio finds himself in the clutches of gorgeous creatures, not-so-gorgeous ones, itinerant noodle vendors, yakuza and even transvestites...