The Netflix series “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020” along with its older renditions, has been garnering global popularity over the years: featuring its unique and distinctive concept of filming six strangers from different walks of life, living together.
If you’re planning to give the Japanese show a watch, we’ve compiled a list of the most memorable Terrace House cast members to look out for over the past few seasons.
This article was first published in July 2020 and has since been updated. Hana Kimura, at number ten, died in May 2020 after being targeted with abuse online, and that section has been rewritten to account for what has happened since, including the change to Japanese law that followed.
Memorable Terrace House Cast Members
1. Seina Shimabukuro
Terrace House: Opening New Doors, Boys × Girls Next Door and cameos
Seina first lived in the house in Boys × Girls Next Door, which is not on Netflix, and moved back in for Opening New Doors after her breakup with Daiki. In one of the most memorable scenes in Terrace House history, she bought a bottle of wine for her housemates and then drank the whole thing herself.
2. Tatsuya Uchihara
Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City
It’s not Terrace House without its infamous ‘incidents’. If you’re a true fan, you’ll know that a fair share happened when Uchi was under the TH roof. From the offset, he wasted no time in getting to know the ladies, which gave birth to the phrase “Uchi week”, after taking them on separate dates within the same week.
Another notable moment would be the “meat incident”. When he found that his housemates had cooked and eaten the Hida beef he was keeping in the fridge, his reaction shocked viewers: after all, it’s just meat, isn’t it? Not quite. It was expensive, and it was a gift from an important client. Uchi stopped speaking to the house until Minori’s sister Kurumi helped smooth things over.
3. Minori Nakada
Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City
Frustrated by Uchi’s ambiguous behaviour, Minori decides to call him out through a Japanese dish ‘omurice’ which is known on the show as the “coward omelette incident”. She made the dish and spelt the word “coward” in ketchup on the top. Hands down one of the most creative confrontations on the show!
4. Wez
Terrace House: Aloha State
For all his interesting background, fashionable style and enviable job, Wez became the stirrer of the house. He caused a lot of tension, and many viewers found him lazy and dismissive of the women he lived with. The only person he really got along with was Cheri.
5. Guy Sato
Terrace House: Aloha State
Who could dislike such a genuine soul? Guy was just a fun and chill person to be around. His motivations for joining the show were pure to enhance his experiences which were reflected in his actions towards the others.
6. Cheri
Terrace House: Aloha State
The drama queen of the season, Cheri fell out with one housemate after another and made announcements about “cutting people out of her life”. When everyone confronted her at the table, she did not hesitate to defend herself, bringing up other members’ past behaviour and delivering the infamous line, “you’ve lost your place on my list”. It made for some of the most talked-about scenes of the season.
7. Han-san
Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City
A cult favourite, Yuto Handa joined Terrace House not for love nor for career development. As the most warm-hearted and uplifting member of the season, he was genuinely there to help his fellow housemates by offering his words of advice. He is known for the scene where he advises Natsumi on how to handle her clash with Misaki without stepping on people’s toes. He is the best counsellor across all the seasons.
8. Toshiyuki Niino
Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020
Featured in the final series, Niino, otherwise known as “boss”, seemed to play the ‘advice giver’ role of the household. Not surprisingly, a new side of his character was discovered when he found his target, Yume. As if the creepy “beer bottle incident” wasn’t weird enough, he was also exposed for his obsessive behaviour: eavesdropping on her conversation with another member. Showing interest is one thing, but for many viewers this crossed a line.
9. Shion Okamoto
Terrace House: Opening New Doors
Was he really expecting us to “swoon” over him or was that a joke?
Many viewers were wary of him at first but were won over when he showed his interest in Tsubasa, the introverted ice hockey player. His open affection for her was charming to watch. A few dates and several scream-worthy moments later, he told her how he felt around Valentine’s Day, and her answer came just before she left the house.
10. Hana Kimura
Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020
Hana Kimura was a bright and cheerful individual with a unique profession on her belt, which translated positively among other members and viewers. Other than the rejection from her first romantic interest, another scene that stood out was the “costume incident” where Kai accidentally ruined her custom-made wrestling costume. The episode drew a hostile reaction from part of the audience, and that reaction followed her off the screen.
The world was shocked when news dropped of her sudden passing, which was confirmed to be on May 23rd. She was 22, and she had been the target of a sustained campaign of abusive messages on social media.
What happened afterwards is part of the story. Fuji TV halted production and Terrace House never returned. Two men were fined 9,000 yen each over the messages they had sent her, sums that were widely criticised in Japan for how little they amounted to, and a third was ordered by the Tokyo District Court in 2021 to pay her mother 1.29 million yen in damages.
Her mother, Kyoko Kimura, campaigned to have the law changed, saying that she wanted people to know this is a crime. In 2022 it was changed. The penalty for the offence of insult in Japan went from up to 30 days detention and a 10,000 yen fine to up to a year in prison and a 300,000 yen fine, and the window for bringing a case was extended from one year to three. Lawmakers attached a requirement to review the law within three years, after concerns that it could be turned on legitimate criticism.
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