Japanese Hermit, Masafumi Nagasaki, Has Lived Naked And Alone On Sotobanari Island For 20 Years [PHOTOS]

Instead of spending time with family during his twilight years, 76-year-old Masafumi Nagasaki has made a deserted island in Okinawa's prefecture his retirement home.

On the Sotobanari Island, there are no other inhabitants, natural water or clothes for that matter. Nagaski has elected to live his remaining days alone, as a naked hermit.

I don't do what society tells me, but I do follow the rules of the natural world, said Nagasaki, reported Reuters. You can't beat nature so you just have to obey it completely. That's what I learned when I came here, and that's probably why I get by so well.

For 20 years, Nagasaki has lived on the Sotobanari Island just west of Japan's Okinawa prefecture. He was originally a photographer, working in the entertainment industry. However, he eventually decided to leave his job and get away from it all.

Early on in his endeavor on the Sotobanari, which means Out Distant Island, he faced a typhoon that swept across 1,000 meters from the island. The massive storm took away a tent and most of his shelter.

I just scorched under the sun, he said, according to Reuters. It was at that point I thought this was going to be an impossible place to live.

However, he persevered.

During his first year on the island, he used to wear clothes whenever boats passed him. However, living on the Sotobanari for so many years took away his embarrassment, reported Reuters.

Walking around naked doesn't really fit in with normal society, but here on the island it feels right, it's like a uniform, he said. If you put on clothes you'll feel completely out of place.

Once a week, he travels to a nearby settlement that is approximately an hour away, so he can buy food and water. He also picks up an allowance from his family, approximately 10,000 yen, or $120.

He survives on rice cakes, which he boils in water, sometimes eating four or five times a day, reported Reuters.

His life might be difficult or hard to imagine, but Nagasaki said he loves every moment of it.

Finding a place to die is an important thing to do, and I've decided here is the place for me, he said, reported Reuters. It hadn't really occurred to me before how important it is to choose the place of your death, like whether it's in a hospital or at home with family by your side. But to die here, surrounded by nature -- you just can't beat it, can you?