Uchimura met Nanbara while attending the Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School, along with Tetsurō Degawa and Masato Irie, who were also classmates.
In 1992, Utchan Nanchan won the Japanese Academy Award for "Best New Actors" for their roles in the movie Cult Seven (七人のおたく).
In 1993 Hong Kong singer Wong Ka Kui died after both he and Uchimura fell off a broken stage on Utchan Nanchan TV show.
Criticisms followed that the Japanese were having too many late night shows of this type, and the TV station crews were overworked.
At the same time, he was called a child prodigy after placing 8th in a local prefectural swimming tournament, leading his school's softball team to a municipal semifinal win, while also competing in baseball and kendo.