This particular type of nothing, it turns out, is one you can watch for hours.
At first it all feels so polite and formal, but once you become more attuned to the show's rhythms it becomes clear that everyone is just as manipulative and shady as anyone on any other reality show - they're just way more subtle about it. Sometimes it takes the panel to explain how a seemingly innocuous conversation was in fact loaded with tension.
The panel is Terrace House's biggest point of difference, its secret weapon: every 10 or 15 minutes the show cuts back to the studio, set up like a living room, where six comedians, actors and celebrities are watching the action.
Their reaction and analysis, happening in close to real time, is the highlight of every episode.
The trip to the supermarket, for example, introduces us to the "hot pot sergeant" - the oldest housemate, 31-year-old snowboarder Taka, earns this designation for taking control of the shopping trip, despite the fact that Yuudai is a trained chef.
After watching aspiring model Ami badmouth Yuudai's breakfast soup to her friend, bespectacled comedian Ryota Yamasato takes a sudden, vitriolic dislike to her. A hacky joke from goofy Yoshimi Tokui earns a mocking response from Azusa Babazono: "What are you, a comedian from the Edo period?"
The panel's specialty is romantic speculation.
By the end of the first episode they are already wondering if Yuudai might get together with Ami, or if tomboyish ice hockey player Tsubasa, the popular favourite, will find love in the house.
Who wouldn't want to watch along with them and find out?
Lowdown
Terrace House: Opening New Doors (Netflix)