"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 June 29th broadcast will focus on a couple who have devoted themselves to dairy farming in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture.
Satellite images show a vast area of land cleared deep in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, with a single house on the property. The search team proceeds along a forest road from the nearest village. After a while, they come across a "Full Road Closure" sign. The road closure is said to start six kilometers away, so the search team drives on, saying, "Let's go as far as we can." However, fallen trees and rocks remain everywhere. They proceed along the dangerous forest road for a while, but a huge fallen tree blocks the road, and they can't go any further.
The search team descended the mountain and headed to the home of the owner of a house in a village at the foot of the mountain. They were greeted by a 76-year-old husband and his 69-year-old wife. When the village ran a dairy farm, they needed a large amount of grass to feed the dairy cows, so they rented a vast 20-hectare plot of land deep in the mountains to turn it into pasture. However, the dairy farm went out of business about three years ago.
The pasture is located just before the road closure, and the couple still maintains it. The couple said, "We'll clear away the fallen trees blocking the road," and agreed to show us the pasture a week later. When the search team returned, the fallen trees had been cleared away, and a vast pasture spread out near the ridge. This land was once closely connected to the Ashio Copper Mine. The program tells the story of the couple who continued to devote their efforts to dairy farming.
The wife said, "We love cows and want to continue dairy farming," but the husband added with a smile, "I feel a little sad that dairy farming has ended with my generation, but... I would like to travel as a couple to a world we have never known before."
The guests are Anne Nakamura and Yukiyoshi Ozawa, who co-star in the July drama "Good Evening, This Is the Asayama Family" (ABC TV/TV Asahi).
