MOUNT HAGURO, Yamagata Pref. -- Three days trekking deep into the mountains with no money, makeup, jewelry, bath, toothbrush or razor is definitely not your average walk in the hills. Add on agreeing to endure a grueling series of self-suffering ancient rituals and sacred rites, and obey every utter command of your guides, and this is really not sounding like a relaxing way to spend the weekend.

This year, for the eighth year running, local organizers here are providing a rare opportunity for lay people and city slickers to step into the strict and sacred realm of the Dewa Sanzan mountains and join the ranks of the yamabushi, the famed mountain ascetic followers of the Shugendo sect of esoteric Buddhism. The yamabushi practice an arduous form of mountain worship highly demanding of both body and mind. Their seasonal rituals of "entering the peaks" are as renowned as they are feared, and the program advertises that you can "leave the worries of your daily life behind and discover yourself anew."

Since the sixth century, mountain ascetics have roamed the three sacred mountains collectively known as Dewa Sanzan: Haguro-san, believed to represent birth, Gassan, said to represent death, and Yudono-san, believed to represent rebirth.