The variety show "Potsun to Ikkenya" (ABC TV/TV Asahi, Sundays at 7:54 PM) uses satellite photos as clues to search for isolated houses in remote areas. The July 5th episode will feature a 77-year-old woman from Oita Prefecture who, despite some dissatisfaction, happily embraces the romantic ideal of rural living that her late husband pursued, and continues to live in that house to this day.
The search party was able to locate a red-roofed building in the middle of a deep forest, at the end of a winding road that seemed to traverse the mountains. In front of the building was a barren, desolate plot of land, with no fields or rice paddies in sight. A man from a village they stopped at along the way offered to guide the search party.
Led by a light truck driven by a man, the group proceeded along a complex mountain path that would be difficult for first-time visitors to navigate. Along the way, they encountered an oncoming vehicle driven by an 80-year-old man who was leasing land to the residents of a house. Upon seeing the search party's vehicle, he immediately offered advice, saying, "You can't climb the mountain path up ahead unless you're using a four-wheel drive vehicle." So the search party stopped their vehicle and headed towards the house on foot. After climbing the mountain path, breathless, they came face to face with a log house with a striking red roof.
The person who greeted me was a 77-year-old woman. She has been living alone in this area since her husband passed away seven years ago. The woman spoke fondly of her days with her late husband. Her husband had a serialized column in the newspaper and published books, and many friends gathered around him. It was because of these connections that they moved from the village to their current location, even deeper in the mountains, about 20 years ago. As she continued to live in the mountains, she came to enjoy gathering mountain vegetables and chopping firewood. What kind of life is it to live brightly and happily, in harmony with the blessings of nature...?
The guests are Yuta Tamamori from the popular group "Kis-My-Ft2" and actor Aoi Morikawa, who will appear in the drama "My Fiction" (ABC TV/TV Aoi Morikawa, Sundays at 10:15 PM), which starts on July 5th.
