Have you seen this video from Vice Japan? It is a story about an old man who lives by himself on an island in Okinawa. He is the only person on the island so basically he is the king of his own little island.
Mr. Nagasaki has lived on Sotobanari Island for over 20 years. He doesn't wear any clothes and basically survives off the land, the sea and some money that family send to him every month. So he isn't entirely self-sufficient but pretty close to it.
Could you do this? Could you live by yourself for many, many years? It sounds like paradise to some people, right? This guy loves his isolation and if it works for him who are we to judge.
The interesting thing about this video is that the guy comes across as being quite social. He seems to be very chatty and he does not seem to be quiet or introverted in the least.
Because of this I wonder if he does miss the modern world and he has just been on the island for so long that I thinks that if he goes back to the city that he might not make it, a bit like the character Brooks Hatlen on that very good movie The Shawshank Redemption. Brooks had been in jail for about 50 years that when he finally got released he couldn't handle it on the outside and killed himself in the halfway house that was his home on release.
We are social beings and we do need some human contact from time to time. I suppose his once monthly trip to the next island for shopping does give some human contact. I wonder if he covers himself when he does that. He might get arrested if he walks down the main street in his birthday suit or maybe they are used to it. I might have to go there to find out.
All I can say about this is that this kind of lifestyle is not for me. I like my comfortable bed and running water and a hot shower too much to want to spend the rest of my days on a deserted island and anyway I also like talking to people occasionally. You learn a lot by asking questions and you get a different perspective on life.
Sure it might be nice to go to a tropical island for a week or so, but I'm sure that 99.99% of you would love to get back to civilisation and you would really appreciate the good things that modern society brings.
I hope Mr. Nagasaki is happy and he lives out his remaining days (and in Okinawa that could be quite a few days) in peace and he dies happy knowing that he has lived his perfect life.
It just isn't for me.
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