"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 find a secluded house. The March 2nd broadcast follows a son from Okayama Prefecture who continues to protect the house his father built after the war, with stone walls built on it.
The guests were singer Yoko Oginome and actor Tetta Sugimoto. Oginome said, "I'm the type who used to run around in the mountains and fields, so I feel more comfortable in nature," to which MC George Tokoro was surprised, saying, "I have an image of you as a city person, so that's surprising." Meanwhile, Sugimoto said with a wry smile, "I may look like this, but I'm a city boy..."
The satellite photos obtained by the search team showed the house so deep in the mountains that it was impossible to see the road to the house. When they asked a male resident in a village along the way, he told them that the person who lived in the house had already passed away and that it was now being looked after by his son. The mountain path to the house was narrow and steep, so the man guided the search team part of the way.
Leaving the village behind and passing through a tunnel heading into the mountains, the group continues on a narrow mountain road that is just barely passable even in a light truck led by the man. The light truck stops when the road narrows further. The man says, "It's about one kilometer from here," and continues to lead the group on foot to a house. The search team climbs with difficulty, saying, "The uphill climb is steep, and we're out of breath." At the top of the mountain road, they see a house built on top of a stone wall.
The search team contacted the man (82) who owns and manages the house, and later revisited the house. The man greeted them with a smile, saying, "You finally found him (on the show) (laughs)." The house was built by the man's father, who passed away at the age of 104 a few years ago, by cutting through the mountain and building stone walls. The man says he continues to visit the house almost every week, making the two-hour journey one way. The preview also features a Goemon bath, and the man talks about his memories of that time.
In fact, the man lost his biological father when he was one year old and came to this area as an adopted child. He was informed of his adoption status after graduating from junior high school. The man then talks about how his parents, who welcomed him as an adopted child, showered him with love and raised him. The studio was quietly filled with emotion as he told the story of his life, which was like a drama.
