"The House in the Middle of Nowhere" (ABC TV/TV Asahi, Sunday 7:58 p.m.) is a variety show that uses satellite photos to search for a remote house. In the April 20 episode, the search team visits a house deep in the snowy mountains of Nagano Prefecture.
The satellite photos the search team had in hand showed a house on a site cut into a winding curve, surrounded by mountains. As the search team made their way along the mountain path, houses began to appear one by one. They called out to a man walking along the road and asked him to check the satellite photos. He told them that the forest road leading to the house had been hit by rocks and was currently closed. The only way to reach their destination was from the other side of the mountain. The search team decided to detour around the mountain path and head for the nearest village on the other side of the mountain, about 25 kilometers away.
The search team, arriving on the other side of the mountain, stopped at a familiar village. It was a place they had visited in November last year while inquiring about another isolated house. When they visited the house of the man (70) who had guided them back then, he greeted them with a smile. He knew about the house they were visiting and told them, "Until last year, I think (the man) was 100 years old and lived alone, but now no one lives there."
The search team was introduced to the son (64) of the man who lived in the house. The son told them that his father had indeed lived alone until he was 100 years old, but he had difficulty walking and had entered a nursing home. The son said that he came to the house once a week to look after it, and the search team was allowed to accompany him on that day.
However, that day was unfortunate, with bad weather. Snow had piled up on the rough mountain roads, and the search team's car kept slipping deep in the mountains. They couldn't go any further, and when they tried to give up...
The guests are rakugo performer Katsura Miyaji and actor Mei Hata.
