The variety show "Potsun to Ikkenya" (ABC TV/TV Asahi, Sundays at 7:54 PM) uses satellite photos as a clue to search for isolated houses in remote areas. In the March 22nd broadcast, they will visit a house in a remote mountainous area of Okayama Prefecture where a three-generation family lives. The guests will be comedian Higashi Takahiro, also known as "Higashi MAX," and talent Itano Tomomi.
It was snowing when the search party arrived, and snow had accumulated in the mountain village they reached. Amidst the falling snow, the search party asked a man who was walking to check satellite photos. It was a secluded house in a remote location, but he seemed to have a hunch, telling them, "There is indeed a house around here." Moreover, he led them to the home of a 71-year-old man who lived nearby and was familiar with the area. Even better, the man and his 39-year-old niece got into a pickup truck and led the way along the snow-covered mountain path.
With the snow-covered rice paddies in the background, the search party headed deeper into the mountains. The mountain road was icy in places, and the driver carefully turned the steering wheel. The lead light truck also drove safely towards the isolated house. At the end of the snowy mountain road, a house surrounded by mountains came into view.
Three generations live there: a 78-year-old and 77-year-old couple, their eldest son and his wife (56 and 38 years old), and their 4-year-old granddaughter. When the search party visited, the area was covered in snow, but in addition to vegetables for their own consumption, they also grow 26 kinds of fruit, including grapes such as Pione and Aki Queen, as well as yellow peaches, blueberries, and figs. The preview video shows the 4-year-old granddaughter happily gathering mountain produce with her mother and playing on a snow sled in a corner of the orchard.
As Itano watched the video, she said with a look of admiration, "I thought it would be really wonderful to be raised in such a free and easy environment."
