"The House in the Middle of Nowhere" (ABC TV/TV Asahi, Sunday 7:58pm) is a variety show that uses satellite photos to find a secluded house. On the December 8th broadcast, they visit a rice terrace farm deep in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. The guests are actors Yuki Uchida and Shuichiro Naito.
The satellite photo shows the northern part of Nagano Prefecture. We can see that buildings are densely built on a site surrounded by nothing but forest. However, there are no roads around it, so it looks like an isolated site. Uchida tilts his head and says, "I think they are farmers who grow rice... I wonder if they transport it by helicopter?" Naito says, "When I think of Nagano Prefecture, I think of soba (buckwheat noodles). I think they grow soba noodles and vegetables that are used in tempura," imagining a lively community in the area.
As the search team heads for their destination and exits the tunnel, the scenery changes and they enter a forest road overgrown with trees. The mountain road, narrow enough for a light truck to pass through, soon turns into a cliff road that looks like it could collapse at any moment. The search team's car advances cautiously along the cliff road with no guardrails and only enough space for one tire. In the studio, the "life-risking search" continues, with Uchida and others screaming.
They finally reach the house, but the owner is not there. When the search team returns the next day, a 73-year-old man greets them with a smile, saying, "You've finally come to my house." The search team helps with threshing in the rice terraces, and is captivated by the magnificent scenery. The trailer also shows the search team being touched by the hospitality of the new rice farmers.
When the man who had been protecting the rice fields left by his parents said, "I want to preserve this place as long as I live," Uchida in the studio was impressed, saying, "I felt that by taking care of what has been handed down so preciously, but also carrying it on in our everyday lives, we can stay healthy." Meanwhile, Naito spoke of his aspirations for a "living in isolation," saying, "One day, I want to aim to be someone who can work in the mountains while feeling the negative ions."
