Until his death last May, Kiyoshi Kodama was the host of the NHK travel show "Sekai Bikkuri Ryokosha" ("World Surprise Travel Agency"; NHK, Tues., 7:30 p.m.). Kodama was the "owner" of the titular travel firm who recommended "unique" overseas sightseeing plans from his studio perch.
Kodama's position has been taken over by actor Yosuke Eguchi, who in his first episode leaves the studio and acts as tour guide of Val di Noto, a region of Sicily consisting of eight towns that were destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1693 and rebuilt by local noblemen in the late Baroque style. Eguchi explores the unusual architecture of the area and talks to local residents about what it's like to live there.
The drama "Kiseki no Hospice" ("Miracle Hospice"; TBS, Wed., 9 p.m.) is based on the career of Keiko Tamura, the head nurse of the Yodogawa Christian Hospital in Osaka, which pioneered the hospice concept in Japan.