The Kobayashi family finally get the chance to move out of their tiny, cramped Tokyo apartment in favour of the suburban house of their dreams. But all is not well: the house is infested by termites and the family starts cracking up: Son Masaki is studying so obsessively for his exams that he's losing his mind; daughter Erika is oblivious of all but her forthcoming record company audition, grandfather Yasukuni starts getting World War II flashbacks and father Katsuhiko is so worried about his family's "sickness" that he thinks can only be cured by group suicide…
An old married couple Shukichi Hirayama and Tomiko live on a small island in the Inland Sea. They go to Tokyo. The couple have 3 children. The eldest son Koichi runs a hospital. The first daughter Shigeko runs a beauty salon. The second son Shuji works in stage art. The families ask the parents to take a rest in Tokyo, but the parents do not like staying in Tokyo. One day, Tomiko visits Shuji's apartment. There, Tomiko is introduced to Shuji's fiancé Noriko, but Tomiko collapses at Koichi's house.