Oizumi Yo Leads ‘Our Hakone Ekiden,’ Premiering October 10 — 5ch: “That Budget Must Be Insane”

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The story

It’s been announced that “Our Hakone Ekiden,” a Nippon TV drama starring Oizumi Yo, will premiere on October 10 in the Saturday 9pm slot for the October season. The stacked cast includes Ito Sairi, Kobayashi Toranosuke, and Yamashita Tomohisa among many others, based on a novel by Ikeido Jun. On 5ch, the first reaction was surprise at the star-studded lineup, but opinions on the Hakone Ekiden itself were split. Alongside skeptical takes — “it’s a tournament for Kanto universities only,” “you have to wonder if it even counts as a pure sport” — other posters pushed back, citing the race’s history and the universities that take part.

“Our Hakone Ekiden” Premieres October 10, Landing in the “Saturday 9pm” Slot — Star-Studded Cast Revealed in New Teaser

It was announced on the 30th that “Our Hakone Ekiden,” a Nippon TV drama series airing this October and starring actor Oizumi Yo (every Saturday, 9:00 PM), will air its first episode on October 10 at 9:00 PM.

The series takes over the “Saturday Drama” slot (every Saturday, 9:00 PM), and a teaser has been released alongside the announcement.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here

What people said

7AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:42
Read the book — this is the kind of story that's gonna fall flat as a TV drama.
10AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:44
Haven't watched a Nippon TV drama in ages.
Gotta go back to when Saturday 9pm dramas were packed with idols of the moment.
11AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:47
Same as ever — Fukuyama from the same talent agency is on TV too.
12AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:48
People only watch it because there's nothing else on at New Year's — did they mistake that for real popularity?
13AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:49
People from Kanto sure do love the Hakone Ekiden lol
21AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:53
Re: #13
TV's too lame to have anything worth watching, but everyone's stuck eating osechi together, so it's perfect to just leave running in the background.
33AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:57
Re: #13
Wait, isn't that a tournament just for Kanto-region universities?
14AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:49
First one since "Our Ole!" —
the "Our ___" sports drama series rolls on
15AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:49
"Our Hakone Ekiden"

Oizumi Yo, Ito Sairi, Kobayashi Toranosuke, Oku Tomoya, Yamada Anna, Ichikawa Enya, Kohinata Fumiyo, Namase Katsuhisa, Takenaka Naoto, Terao Akira,
Asaka Kodai, Mochizuki Ayumu, Kawachi Yamato, Mizusawa Rintaro, Sugo Shinki, Araki Tsubasa, Shoji Kohei, Hayashi Yuta,
Yamamoto Koji, Suruga Taro, Kaneda Akio, Takahashi Katsunori, Yamashita Tomohisa
43AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:07
Re: #15
Cast is so stacked the production budget must be insane.
17AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:51
So it's basically a promo drama for the Hakone Ekiden.
Nippon TV really has gone rotten.
18AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:52
Thought this was gonna be a serious sports drama,
but it's actually centered on the TV station?
Guess I'll skip it.
23AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:53
None of the cast fit the characters from the original novel at all — terrible casting.
26AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:54
For an Ikeido Jun adaptation, you need Kagawa [Teruyuki]…
103AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:50
Re: #26
There's a kabuki actor from Kagawa's troupe in it though → Ichikawa Enya
31AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:55
Ratings usually drop on Saturday/Sunday during a Sat-Sun-Mon three-day weekend, and they're starting the show right on that weekend?
50AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:13
Re: #31
Figured they'd air it on the day of the qualifying race.
35AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:59
Toranosuke's really breaking out these days.
53AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:17
Re: #35
Oh, the kid who played the catcher in 'Gekokujo'?
39AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:04
Wagon~ Master~ ♪
54AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:20
Re: #39
Hurry up, covered wagon~
45AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:07
Ikeido Jun adaptations don't pull ratings unless banks and corporations are involved.
'Minou' bombed too.
83AnonymousAug 31, 2026 01:21
Re: #45
Did 'Minou' actually bomb?
'Minou R' was garbage, so it wouldn't be shocking if it flopped.
57AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:21
Haven't read the original novel, but—
is this a story about chasing a spot at Hakone?
Or is it depicting Hakone from the TV station's point of view?
59AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:27
Re: #57
It's a double storyline — one about the Gakuren Senbatsu (student athletic federation's select team) and one about the human drama behind the station's broadcast operations.
58AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:22
There's something about the Hakone Ekiden that isn't quite pure sport, and it kind of creeps me out.
61AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:28
Re: #58
First, define what 'pure sport' even means.
Now you're sounding like the old Olympics back when it was rigidly bound by amateur-status rules lol
71AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:46
I think this is going to flop hard.
People only half-watch the Hakone Ekiden because it's on at New Year's — basically nobody's genuinely into it.
77AnonymousAug 31, 2026 01:10
Re: #71
Same as how everyone just half-watches the Kohaku Uta Gassen (New Year's Eve song contest).
89AnonymousAug 31, 2026 01:50
Honestly, ekiden is a sport for bottom-tier ('F-rank') universities.
Hard to get interested in a sport the prestigious Big Six universities basically ignore.
91AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:00
Re: #89
What half-asleep nonsense are you spouting —
the universities in the very first race were Tokyo Higher Normal School, Waseda, Keio, and Meiji.
93AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:03
Re: #89
Todai might ignore it completely, but even Keio seemed to go all-out for the anniversary races.
Waseda, Meiji, Hosei, and Rikkyo are definitely serious about it.
Seko used to sulk whenever Waseda lost.
94AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:04
Re: #91
Tokyo Higher Normal School was connected to the man who inspired the NHK drama 'Idaten.'
101AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:37
Re: #94
The year after 'Idaten' aired, Tsukuba made it back to Hakone for the first time in ages, but apparently nobody knew about the drama or Kanakuri-sensei either.
95AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:04
Until I checked Wikipedia just now, I genuinely thought Ikeido Jun was that guy who used to be married to Adachi Yumi.
A comedian who also writes novels? That's impressive, I thought — dead serious.
106AnonymousAug 31, 2026 03:17
Re: #95
Speed Wagon [the comedy duo] and Hamburg Shisho [the comedian] really are easy to mix up.
98AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:25
Haven't they announced the actual runner roles yet?
If Yamashita's already in it, guess no other Johnny's talent is showing up?
99AnonymousAug 31, 2026 02:28
Re: #98
Already announced —
https://www.ntv.co.jp/orehako/cast/
109AnonymousAug 31, 2026 03:31
'Amaaaai~'
so that guy's the original author?…
Wonder if it's actually any good?
110AnonymousAug 31, 2026 03:31
Re: #109
Similar name, but that's not him.

Background and Talking Points

The Hakone Ekiden is a tournament hosted by the Kanto Intercollegiate Athletic Union, open only to universities in the Kanto region — in other words, it’s technically a regional competition. Even so, it has long drawn nationwide ratings as a New Year’s tradition, and the thread’s recurring question of “why does something so Kanto-local get so much buzz” reflects that underlying structure. Dramas adapted from Ikeido Jun’s novels have swung between hits like ‘Hanzawa Naoki’ and misfires like ‘Minou,’ which is why posters speculated about how this new one will fare. Rather than centering on athletes chasing a spot in the race, the story reportedly focuses on the human drama among the TV staff covering the broadcast — a gap between that premise and what sports-drama fans might expect that’s easy to overlook.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Oizumi Yo-Starring Drama ‘Our Hakone Ekiden’ — First Episode Airs October 10, Set for Saturday 9pm Slot! Star-Studded Cast Revealed in New Teaser.”

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