Japan – Tokyo (2008)
Licensed adaptation – Japanese-language production by Toho
In 2007, the musical became the first Korean original to be formally licensed for overseas production when Toho acquired adaptation rights. The Japanese premiere opened in July 2008 at Theatre Tram in Tokyo under the title サ・ビ・タ～雨が運んだ愛～ (Sa-Bi-Ta: Love Brought by the Rain), retaining the intimate scale of the Korean staging. Positive audience response led to further touring and later restagings within Japan.

Japan – National Tour (2010)
Licensed adaptation – Japanese-language tour
Following the Tokyo run, the Japanese version toured multiple cities in 2010, including Toyama, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Tokyo’s Honda Theatre. Marketing framed the work as a “small musical with big emotions,” and Korean actor Lee Hyun appeared in a special curtain call, underscoring the production’s cross-border roots.

Japan – Tokyo Revival (2012)
Licensed adaptation – revival by Toho
A second Tokyo revival was mounted in 2012 at Aoyama Round Theatre with updated casting. The repeated remounts confirmed the title’s durability and marked it as one of the earliest Korean originals to maintain an ongoing presence in Japan before the larger K-musical export wave of the mid-2010s.