Hamatsu started with nothing (including no clothes), was cut off from outside communication and broadcasting, and had nothing to keep him company except the magazines he combed through for sweepstakes entry forms.

After spending 335 days to reach Hamatsu's target, he set the Guinness world record for the "longest time survived on competition winnings".

In reality, the experiment was being live-streamed, with footage compiled and re-aired each week, complete with sound effects present at frequent intervals, using new tech to have 24/7 television to show him live using a joystick to cover up his genitals.

Hamatsu never won clothing he could wear (only ladies' underwear that was too small for him to use), nor did he ever win anything to trim his growing facial hair and fingernails.

When Hamatsu won a television set, he was unable to use it at first, as there was no cable or antenna hookup in the apartment (intentional by the producers out of fear he would discover he was already on TV).

Hamatsu would then win a PlayStation game, a copy of the train simulator title Densha de Go!, alongside the controller needed to play it.

[5] Hamatsu would end up playing his game for multiple days straight, ultimately forcing himself to stop in order to keep entering sweepstakes, collecting donations & achieve his objectives.

[citation needed] After winning a set of 4 car tires worth around 84000¥ (about $641 in 2024), Hamatsu closed upon his goal, which he finally achieved with a bag of rice, 335 days after starting.

However, the walls of the apartment fell away to reveal that he was actually in a TV studio with a huge live audience, who began applauding him for succeeding at the challenge.

[8] In April 2020, Hamatsu tried persuading people to cooperate with the self-disciplined stay-at-home order during the wake of the initial COVID-19 outbreaks by citing his own personal experience with self-isolation.