The program "Platinum Family: A Glimpse into the Lives of Extraordinary Families" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 7 PM, excluding some regions) introduces the lifestyles of "glamorous families." On March 31st, the program will focus on an unconventional family living in Hawaii with strong ties to Japan.
Frank Schenk lives in a massive mansion of approximately 1200 tsubo (about 4000 square meters) in Kona, Hawaii Island, with a terrace offering breathtaking panoramic views of Kona Beach.
Schenk's grandfather was Isaku Nishimura, a wealthy landowner known as the "King of Nara's Forests" and the founder of Bunka Gakuin, Japan's first institution to provide gender-equal education. Schenk says that during summer vacation, the family would gather at their seven villas in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, and he recounts an anecdote about having a conversation with Empress Emerita Michiko while watching a tennis match as a child. He also shares a story of his glamorous social life, including a tennis match against the Emperor followed by a meal at a yakitori restaurant in Karuizawa.
Currently, he is involved in real estate transactions in one of the world's leading luxury resort areas, and he unveiled a super-luxury property worth 4 billion yen, with a total land area of approximately 1,000 tsubo (approx. 3,300 square meters), a swimming pool, a huge living room of about 90 tatami mats, and a view of the 15th hole of a golf course. MC Kotaro Koizumi said, "I want to go to sleep with this (happy) feeling," and host Shingo Fujimori was also overwhelmed, saying, "I envy that..."
The grandson of mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo will also appear on the program, and will be given special access to the storehouse at Ranpo's former residence.
