This week, rakugo (raconteur) storyteller Tsurube Shofukutei visits the historic town of Izumo in Shimane Prefecture on his travel show "Tsurube no Kazoku ni Kampai (Tsurube Toasts Families)" (NHK-G, Monday, 8 p.m.). He's joined by former J. League soccer star Rui Ramos, whom he meets under the torii gate of Izumo Taisha, one of the most famous Shinto shrines in Japan, mainly because it supposedly facilitates auspicious connections, be they romantic, professional, or just friendly, that help visitors throughout their lives.
After Ramos offers a prayer of thanks for the various connections that helped him become a soccer star in Japan, he and Tsurube separate and wander around the town in pursuit of encounters with local townspeople, but for some reason the streets are deserted. Ramos takes the initiative and enters a community center, where some elderly people are practicing traditional dances. They persuade him to sing a song.
S peaking of retired soccer players, superstar Hidetoshi Nakata has kept a very low profile since the World Cup Tournament in 2006. Actually, he's been traveling the world in accordance to his Web site motto: "Life is a journey and journeys are life." Some of those travels are shown on the special program "Nakata Hidetoshi no Document: Boku ga Mita Kono Chikyu (Hidetoshi Nakata Document: The World I've Seen)" (Nihon TV, Monday, 9:30 p.m.).