Hidehiko Ishizuka of “Honjamaka” talks about “Living” in a fat house

Hello, everyone. This is Hidehiko Ishizuka, who was walking in the shade because it was so hot and I was far away from my destination.

This time, I would like to write about a certain fat person’s “residence. The answer is simple. We fat people don’t like hot and cramped places.

The devil has the rod, the fat man has the water.

Let me start with the reason why we don’t like the heat. Fat people have thicker subcutaneous fat than most of you, and in summer it is like walking around in a leather jacket. It is horrifying, isn’t it? On the other hand, it helps in the winter. I am sure you have all seen fat people laughing in short sleeves in the middle of winter.

By the way, I have not worn long sleeves on location for more than 30 years. Image is a scary thing. When I wore long sleeves to an extremely cold morning market in Aomori Prefecture once, I was told by a mother at the market, “Why aren’t you wearing short sleeves? Everyone was looking forward to it.

I hurriedly changed into short sleeves, but after returning to my hotel that night, I developed a fever. Let me take this opportunity to say something. Even fat people can be cold.

In the summer, fat people sweat a great deal, so they don’t have to drink a lot of water. If you sit down at a restaurant and are offered water and a menu, the water will be gone before you even open the menu. When ordering, you might say something like, “I’d like ramen and half a bowl of fried rice, please. Also, please give me some water,” etc. I often ask for more water.

After that, I still ask for water so much that the restaurant I frequent offers me a menu and a pitcher of water from the beginning. It’s “oni ni kanabou, fatto ni water.” Remember that.

Climbing the castle stairs is now a sport

The next certain thing is that fat people are not good at exercise. But they are fat because they don’t exercise. Once, when I went to a Hakone marquetry store on location, the store owner told me that there were many works on the second floor, but I didn’t want to climb the stairs, so I asked only the cameraman to go there.

As you may know as a location talent, when we visit a local area, we often start the opening with a castle. In this case, it is understandable if the opening is shot with the castle in the background, but some directors say, “I want to open from the top of the castle keep.

As many of you know, the castle stairs are terribly steep and have many steps. For me, climbing the castle stairs is a sport. It’s the beginning of a program and a sweaty man is reporting while he is zealous. Is it okay?

More than 10 years ago, I had a tough time when I played a detective in a drama series called “Detective 110 Kilometers” (TV Asahi). I had to deal with a lot of inconveniences, such as not being able to catch up with the criminal forever in a scene where I was chasing him, and the costume designer making a pocket on the back of my Y-shirt and putting a cooling agent in it for my sweaty body during the shooting on a very hot day.

Now, let me tell you about the rest of the fatty experiences at a stretch.

When you ride a Ferris wheel in winter, the windows fog up and you can’t watch the ride. When I ride a roller coaster, people around me get anxious. Papaya Suzuki and I once broke the jinrikisha’s kaji stick. If you sleep in a yukata at a ryokan, for some reason you will be wearing only an obi in the morning. Toilet seats are consumable. Airplane toilets are backed up and turned around inside. Bungee jumping cannot be experienced if you are over 100 kilograms. Ordering a medium-sized portion in the cafeteria will make you uneasy. Elevators with a capacity of four people buzz when two people are in the elevator.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you in the future.

From the July 18-25, 2025 issue of FRIDAY