Former assistant director to Shall We Dance? filmmaker Masayuki Suo, Gen Yamakawa helmed this mildly satirical comedy about a housewife named Sonoko (Keiko Matsuzaka) longing for something different than the daily grind of housework. Tired of being ignored by her workaholic husband (Keizo Kanie) and her punkish teenaged son (Yosuke), she calls up a radio show for help. The hostess named Kanae (Riho Makine) flippantly tells her to drop everything and visit the Takkyu Hot Springs, and this she does. Along the way, she meets the middle-aged owner of the hot springs who complains about the waning fortunes of the establishment. They need a new idea to draw in the customers. The hot spring proves to be a tumble down affair which Sonoko, ever the housewife, promptly scrubs from tatami to ceiling. The owner takes her in and she feels downright liberated. Later, she discovers a dusty ping-pong table, rekindling a long dormant schoolgirl passion for the game. Soon she enlists the help of Kohei (So Yamanaka), a ping pong whiz from a rival hot springs to start a spa wide ping-pong tournament. Will Sonoko return to her humdrum life with her blockheaded husband or will she continue to help with the ping-pong hot springs? ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
