"The House in the Middle of Nowhere" (ABC TV/TV Asahi, Sunday) is a variety show that uses satellite photos to search for a secluded house. On July 13th, a two-hour special will be broadcast from 7pm. The setting for this episode is a house on an island in a clear stream in Wakayama Prefecture. The search team is moved by the fantastic sight of fireflies dancing wildly.
The search team headed to the nearest village in the mountains. When they asked a man working on a tractor to check the satellite image, he said, "This is probably a villa. It's a habitat for Genji fireflies, and you can see a lot of them in the summer. It's worth a look." However, they said they didn't know who the owner was.
Leaving the village behind, the search team proceeded along a winding forest road, crossed the mountain peak and entered the depths of the forest. After continuing along the road alongside a beautiful clear stream and crossing a bridge, a modern building appeared. However, the gate at the entrance to the building was securely closed. With no information on the owner, the search team decided to post a message and wait for a reply.
Four months later, the search team was contacted and returned while the owner was still there. A 69-year-old man greeted them with a smile. He purchased the property eight years ago and lives in two locations, running a restaurant in Osaka. Before opening the restaurant, the man had worked in apparel, real estate, and construction, and together with his friends, he designed a house and built his dream home using his DIY skills.
Apparently the restaurant serves dishes made with ingredients from the area. This stylish house, which could be called a man's hideaway, is visited by not only locals but also regular customers of the restaurant. The search team will visit the house again in early June to watch the fantastical dancing of fireflies. The trailer shows the fireflies dancing and the man treating the search team to a luxurious "full course meal of mountain delicacies."
The guests were model and talent Anmika and actor Yosuke Sugino. Sugino seemed envious of the villa life shown on the video, saying, "I want to be a part of it!"
