Mount Takao

This guide to Mount Takao near Tokyo starts with how ordinary a climb it is, under an hour by train from the city, and why it draws more hikers than almost any mountain on Earth. It follows the tengu spirits said to live in its forest, the founding of Yakuoin temple in 744 under Emperor Shomu, and the priest Shungen Daitoku's fire ritual centuries later that shaped the temple's identity. Watch for the statues along the trail, and see if you can tell the different tengu apart.