On a trip to open new business for his film distribution company, Nomura travels to his hometown of Nagano. There he meets his first love, Sayuri, whose parents ran a small movie theater. They rekindle their relationship, causing Sayuri to reconsider her interest in the marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Kimio.
A female adult video director in Tokyo awakens from a dream in which she was a landlady at a hot-springs inn. Later, while scouting for a film location, she finds the inn she saw in her dream.
A delivery health service is run by a mysterious middle-aged man named Yata. The girls who work for Yata include, Koya, Harumi and Akino. Customers include Kizaki, a nerdish young man, and an Adult Video company president and his Assistant Director who secretly film their exploits.
The story follows the lives of the Kazama family in Tokyo in the 30th year of the Shōwa period: 1955. The father, Ichirō, is a salaryman. His wife, Eiko, is a housewife. The daughter, Akiko, works as a clerk in a factory, and Shigeru, the son, is a college student.
Sexual politics in the office as well as in the family complicate the life of Tsuyoshi Taneta. The president of a mid-size publishing firm, Taneta is unable to keep his eyes off his secretary, Natsume. His engaged son also has his eye on Natsume. Kikuhara, a salesman who is too free with his hands, is accused of sexual harassment of Natsume, and dismissed by Taneta.
Misae lives with her boyfriend Shunsuke, and works in the advertising industry. She becomes acquainted with Kazuko, a neighbor who is living with relatives after her parents have divorced. Rika, an old schoolmate of Kazuko's, comes into the group of friends and romantic complications ensue.
Aki works part-time at an Italian restaurant owned by Kawano. She is tired of her relationship with her unfaithful boyfriend, Masaru, and has a crush on Kawano. Kawano's lover, Kyoko, had created a dessert which made the restaurant popular, however the recipe was lost with Kyoko's death in a surfing accident. Aki tries to impress Kawano by recreating the dessert, but she is not as talented a chef as was Kyoko.