深夜#3412おまけ「なめりかわでみなみかわに会える！？」
Debate over a potential live event in Namerikawa, Toyama Prefecture dragged into another week on Saraba Seishun no Hikari ga Tada Baka Sawagi (さらば青春の光がTaダ、Baカ、Saワギ), with only seven listener emails arriving and the two hosts still refusing to commit. The episode's biggest spark came from a listener who pointed out that Namerikawa City was the flashpoint of the 1918 Rice Riots — a fact that rhymes neatly with the show's own name. Late in the recording, comedian Minamikawa (南川さん) wandered into the studio and was immediately drafted as a tentative first guest on the strength of a single pun.
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What this episode answers
How have listener participation prizes and giveaways on TV and radio changed over time?
Postcards have given way to posting keywords on X (formerly Twitter), and prize money has risen from ¥30,000 to ¥35,000; with roughly five topics covered per broadcast, listeners collectively receive around ¥250,000 per week. Physical prizes like the Pajero Mini given to viewer entrants (versus a full Pajero for celebrities) have largely faded from memory.
Why did the 'Namerikawa event' come up as an idea in the first place?
A quarrel between listeners over email escalated into a joke about 'settling it in Namerikawa,' and because Namerikawa is also Shibachan's hometown the idea stuck and has been discussed across several episodes without a formal decision.
What opinions did listeners send in about holding the event in Namerikawa?
Watanabe Pacho noted the cost difference — ¥40,000 round-trip from Kanagawa versus ¥400 by train to Shimokitazawa — while Kushami wo suru emoji reversed course from attending to opposing, worried about a visible enthusiasm gap between listeners and hosts; Nekoze Borer said winter snow would keep them away; and Riezo endorsed the idea, citing firefly squid, white shrimp, and the city's Rice Riot history.
What is the hosts' stance on holding the event?
Both hosts keep repeating 'either way is fine' and blaming each other for secretly wanting to go, while staff member Nabe-chan has quietly begun setting aside promising emails, suggesting low-level momentum behind the scenes.
Why did the Rice Riot story become a tailwind for holding the Namerikawa event?
Listener Riezo pointed out that Namerikawa City was the starting point of the 1918 Rice Riots, and both hosts seized on the fact that the character for 'uproar' (騒) appears in both the show's subtitle 'Tada Baka Sawagi' and the Japanese term for Rice Riots (kome sōdō), calling it 'mythic' and a 'natural fit.'
From Postcards to X — The Evolution of Listener Participation
The episode opened with a relaxed conversation about how listener participation on morning information programs has shifted over the decades. Postcards were once the primary channel, but today the standard format is posting a designated keyword on X (formerly Twitter). Prize money has climbed gradually from ¥30,000 to ¥35,000 per adopted submission, and with around five themes handled per broadcast, the two hosts calculated that listeners collectively receive roughly ¥250,000 a week.
The talk drifted further back to Shōwa- and Heisei-era viewer participation shows, with titles like Itō-ke no Shokutaku (伊東家の食卓) and Hatsumei Shōgun Downtown (発明将軍ダウンタウン) coming up. Both hosts grew nostalgic recalling how celebrities used to win a full Pajero while viewer entrants received only a Pajero Mini — a gap in prize tier that has since all but disappeared.
The Namerikawa Event — Background and Current Status
The Namerikawa idea traces back to a heated email exchange between listeners that escalated into the offhand suggestion of "settling things in Namerikawa." The city in Toyama Prefecture happens to be Shibachan's hometown, which gave the joke enough traction to become a recurring topic across multiple episodes. Despite weeks of discussion, neither host has budged from their position of mutual indifference, and both are waiting for a green light from the production team before anything moves forward.
Listener Emails — For and Against
Seven emails arrived in total — a number the hosts themselves described as underwhelming.
Watanabe Pacho (渡辺パチョ) framed the choice in hard numbers: Namerikawa means a four-hour journey from Kanagawa and ¥40,000 in round-trip travel costs. Shimokitazawa's Kitazawa Town Hall, by contrast, is a 30-minute trip at ¥400 each way. Even adding ¥30,000 in merchandise bought at a Namerikawa event, the Shimokitazawa option still comes out cheaper.
Kushami wo suru emoji (くしゃみをする絵文字) initially declared they would attend, then reversed course entirely. Their concern: the hosts' enthusiasm does not match the listeners', and a live event would make that temperature gap impossible to ignore, causing rapid disillusionment. "Quietly doing vulgar things late at night — that is what makes this show good," they wrote. They live in Kyushu.
Nekoze Borer (ネコゼボーラー), based in Okinawa, has never seen snow and said a winter date would be a dealbreaker. Autumn or summer would be manageable, but spring is uncertain because growing up in Okinawa left them with no resistance to hay fever.
Riezo (リエゾー), originally from Toyama City, came out firmly in favour. A spring event would coincide with firefly squid and white shrimp at their peak, promising a strong food draw. Riezo also noted that Namerikawa City was the starting point of the 1918 Rice Riots — a historical fact that landed harder than any of the other seven emails.
"Tada Baka Sawagi" and the Rice Riots — A Mythic Coincidence
The detail that hooked both hosts was purely linguistic: the character for "uproar" (騒) sits inside both the show's subtitle, Tada Baka Sawagi, and the Japanese term for the Rice Riots, kome sōdō. The two immediately called it "mythic" and said the connection felt like a "natural fit." Staff member Nabe-chan (鍋ちゃん) then revealed he had already flagged Riezo's email as one worth holding on to if the event moved forward — a small sign that something is shifting behind the scenes even as the hosts maintain their public shrug.
Minamikawa Appears — Tentative First Guest
Late in the session, Minamikawa (南川さん) happened to walk past the recording studio. The hosts called out to him, and the room immediately lit up around the pun hiding in plain sight: "Namerikawa" and "Minamikawa" rhyme closely enough to feel like fate. He was nominated on the spot as the tentative first guest for the event. Minamikawa said he is "fortunately being kept busy" but did not turn the offer down. No official decision has been made, and further updates are expected in the coming weeks.
Takeaways
- The Namerikawa event remains undecided after another week, with only seven listener emails and both hosts continuing to insist they have no strong preference either way.
- Listener Riezo's discovery that Namerikawa City was the starting point of the 1918 Rice Riots — and that the word 'uproar' links the city's history directly to the show's own subtitle — generated the most energy of the episode and appears to have given the idea quiet momentum.
- Minamikawa, who happened to walk through the studio during the recording, was instantly named as tentative first guest based on the near-homophone overlap between 'Namerikawa' and 'Minamikawa,' though no formal commitment has been made.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.