This is the doing of Ryotaro.

ぜーんぶリョウタローのせいだ

I wish I'd never told him I was going a 2,000km cycle.

2000km のサイクリングの事言うんじゃなかった

If you think you can do a 2,000km you're fucking crazy mate.

お前が2000kmサイクリングするなんて 絶対頭おかしいよ！

- I'm not crazy.

おかしくねーよ

- It's a screw it just do it mentality. Just do it.

やれるっちゃ！精神的なもんだすぺ。やれるっちゃ！

That's why I brought you here.To test you through fire, water and earth

精神的？って言う事で今日はここに連れてきたんだ。 火と水そして地の修行のテストよ

.- It sounds like you're going to roll me in some mud and set fire to me. Something like that.

泥まみれにされて火でも付けられそう おーそうゆうもんだ

One day.

いつかやってやるよ

So this is Yudono-san, a very sacred and secretive shrine nestled in the mountains of Yamagata.

ここが湯殿山です 山形の山奥に隠された神聖で神秘的な神社

I lived near here for 3 years but I never actually came here. It's quite difficult to find,

実は３年間すぐそこに住んでたんだけど、ここは初めて まず見つけるのが難しい

it's quite difficult to get to due to the secluded, secretive nature of the shrine.

神秘的っていうだけあって、 来るのも楽ではないっちゃ

I've been meaning to come here.

ずっと来たかったべよ ホント

But it's only today when Ryotaro's dragging me into some sort of training practice, that

リョウタローに引っ張られて なにかの修行のおかげで

I've finally had the excuse to come here and do something.

やっとここに来る事ができた

Don't know what we're doing.

何するかは全く分からん

We're going to find out in a bit.

が、楽しみだっちゃ

Earlier this year Ryotaro and I visited a secluded mountain temple of Haguro just outside

前回俺とリョウタローが、 ここ山形県鶴岡市のはずれにある羽黒山を訪れたのは

the city of Tsuruokua in Yamagata.

真冬の事だった

It was here we trekked in silence through snow covered forests in a meditative practice

ここで沈黙の瞑想をしながら雪山を歩き

to bring us into the moment.

その瞬間、その場所に集中した

It was honestly one of the most relaxing experiences I've had all year.

正直、一番落ち着ける体験だった

Haguro is just one of three sacred mountains in the region and now in the height of summer

羽黒山は出羽三山の一つで、今回は真夏の中

we've returned to visit the other two. And today we've come to conquer Gassan a 2,000

残り二つの山を制覇しに来ました 標高2000m, 死を意味する月山、

metre mountain representing Death. And Mount Yudono, the holiest of the three mountains

そして出羽三山の中で最も聖なる山と言われ

which represents rebirth.

再生を意味する湯殿山

So we're kitted out in Shiroshozoku which literally means white clothing.

さっそく白装束に着替えました 白い服装と言う意味ですな

When people pass away in Japan they're wrapped up in white cloth so it represent deaths.

日本では死んだらこういう白い服を着るから 死を意味するんだね

I feel dead because of these sandals.

このサンダル、はきづらくて死にそう

This outfit is actually really nice because it's a really hot day.

まーでも、この暑さの中この服装、結構良いかも

But the sandals are made of what can only be described as rope and it's tearing straight

でもこのサンダル。。。縄でできてんのか これも修行？

through my feet.

足の指ぶちやぶれそー

- And torturing you?

拷問？

Yeah this is tantamount to torture.

おー拷問、拷問

- Your feet is too big and you're too heavy that's all.

お前の足がデカイ、ただのデブなんだよ

Thanks mate.

サンキュー リョウタロウさん

Always a nice man, always full of compliments.

いつも優しいね、お世辞ばっかり

So this is the starting point to Yudono san mountain.

さーではでは ここが湯殿山の修行の始まり

We're going to go and prayer under the waterfall.

これから滝行に行きまーす

- A waterfall?

滝？

A waterfall.

滝

- Yes!

おっしゃ！ おっしゃ！

See on a normal day diving under a waterfall with clothes on would be no.

普通の日だったら絶対ヤダけど

But today yes!

今日は暑いし楽しみ!

Because it's 33 degrees.

33度だもんね

And we're going to be praying in front of fire.

そんでその後、火の前でご祈祷

Lots of praying in front of water and fire so it'll be a nice day.

今日は水の中、火の周りと 修行三昧の充実した１日になりまーす

- You don't sound so convinced.

ホントにそう思ってんのかね ハハハハハハ

Let's go.

よし行こう よし行こう

Trudging upstream wearing the rope sandals of despair, I'd shortly come to

サンダルの拷問を受けながら 川沿いを歩き

regret my comments on the waterfall once I discovered our somewhat minimalistic outfits.

滝に入る時の服装を聞いて さっきのコメント、もう後悔してるんだけど

So we're now going into the waterfall and there's just one problem we are facing right now.

これから滝に入りますが 問題点が一つあります

We need to take off almost all of our clothes.

ふんどし一丁 それ以外、全部脱ぐらしい

- You're going to scare all the viewers.

視聴者への嫌がらせか？

Exactly.

そうだな

You're going to scare all the viewers.

お前の方こそ嫌がらせだろ！！

So this is how you have to look before going into the waterfall.

滝に入る時は こういう格好でーす

- Right.

ふーん

And then hit by the water from above.

そんで滝の水圧に耐えます

How do you feel about it?

どうよ？

It's a little bit revealing but it does still cover everything that needs to be covered.

露出って言えば、露出だけど 隠すもんは隠れてるから良いんじゃない

Yeah it does cover everything but I don't know - I feel really strange.

まーそうだね。隠れてるけど ちょっと慣れないな

So we've been trekking up the mountain for 40 minutes now and we're about to go into the waterfall.

この格好で４０分ほど滝に向かい そろそろ到着です

I'm wearing literally just some undergarments - a cloth - and some rope sandals which are

身に着けてるのは布着れと ふんどし、そして履きづらいサンダル

extremely painful.

サンダル痛い

About 40 minutes ago when I started this climb I said to the camera that I was excited about

歩き始める直前の今から40分前は カメラに向かって

going into the waterfall, given how hot it is.

滝に入るの楽しみ！！って言いましたが

But having just put my foot in it several times and seen how cold it is I'm absolutely terrified.

何回か足入れてみたけど水メチャ冷たい！ 恐ろしいほど冷たい！！

This is water that was snow a few hours ago, melted on the top of the mountain.

この川の水、実は数時間前までは雪だったんです 山の上で溶けたばっかり

So it's extremely cold and I have no idea how I'm going to survive standing under it for a few minutes.

この冷たい水ん中じゃ 俺、凍えんじゃね

- So how do you feel?

リョウタロウどう？感想は？

Well I just put my foot into the water and in two seconds it went numb.

いやー 水の中に足入れたんだけど２秒で麻痺した

It's that cold.

冷たい！

- Bloody hell.

マジで？

How nervous are you on a scale of 1 to 10?

1から10。数字にしたらどれぐらい不安？

12.

12!

Numb in just a matter of seconds and overwhelmed with the burning sensation of the icy water,

数秒で全身麻痺 氷水で全身がチクチク痛い中

I tried to and failed to join in the prayer of thanks to the mountain, in what must have

精神統一、瞑想がんばりました が。。。ムリでした

been the longest minute of my life.

人生の中で最も長い１分でしたね

I'm so numb.

全身しびれた

How do you feel?

どうだった？

How dare you.

お前って奴は

How dare you.

お前って奴は

To call that cold would be an understatement.

冷たくないとは言えんな

That was the coldest water I've ever got in, in my entire life.

人生ん中で一番冷たい水だったべよ

And my whole body went really numb.

全身が硬直して

I couldn't get out.

出れんかったよ

My body was so numb after one or two minutes in the water that I had trouble getting out.

体が言うこと聞かなくなって、 出れないし、まじパニクった

It was quite refreshing.

でもスッキリしましたね

It was quite nice.

って言うか結構良かった

But I don't know if I'd been keen to do it again.

またやりたいとは思わんけど

Historically shrouded in secrecy and closed to the public, in recent years, Yamabushi

日本古来から伝わる山伏道、その秘密は長い間守られ続けてきましたが

Monks have started opening up their ancient rituals to the outside world.

近年、その知恵や伝統、儀式について 少しずつ開かれてきています

With more people suffering from stress than ever before, their practices have never felt more relevant.

ストレスを抱える現代人にとって、 大切で必要とされる教えなのではないでしょうか？

The rituals, the meditation, the ceremonies, they all seek to create a level of awareness;

瞑想と儀式、この経験。その全てが 人間の心を広げてくれる感じがします

pushing you to stop, to be in the moment, and above all, to encourage you to have a

時間と言うものを止め その一瞬一瞬を大切にしながら

greater appreciation for the world and the people around you.

周りの人々を含め 全ての生命に感謝の気持ちが持てるようになれます

The Himatsuri fire festival, is a ceremony to honour the dead and pay respects to our ancestors.

火祭り（火祭護摩祈祷）とは亡くなられた方や ご祖先様を敬う儀式です

After all, if it wasn't for those that came before us, we wouldn't be here ourselves.

今の自分があるのは、ご先祖様がいるからです

During the ceremony participants are encouraged to write their wishes down on a wooden carving

祈祷中に願い事や叶えたい事、夢などを 護摩木に書きます

and place it in the fire with the hope that their dreams will someday come true.

そして護摩木を火に入れ それが成就する事を祈ります

So what did you wish for at the fire festival?

火祭り（火祭護摩祈祷）で何を願ったのさ？

Put me out of my misery.

気になるよ～

I wished that you could complete the 2,000 km cycle.

俺が願ったことは お前が2000kmのサイクリングを無事にゴールすること

Really? What a nice young man.

マジ？見かけによらない良い奴だ

What did you really wish for?

んでホントは何願ったんだ？

Ok I truly wished for people to stop calling me Risottoro.

分かった分かった！ みんな俺の事Risottoroって呼ばないでほしいって

But that's your name.

でも名前じゃん

No.

ちがーう

That's who you are.

名前じゃん

No.

ちがーう

Anyway we're on Mount Gassan - the last of the three Dewa Sanzen mountains.

まーいーや 今私達がいるのは出羽三山制覇最後の山、月山です

I've never conquered it.

登った事ないです

I always wanted to climb it.

ずっと登ってみたかったです

For three years I lived on the Shonai plain and I looked up at it and wondered what it'd

庄内町に住んでいた３年間, 頂上からの眺めをずっと想像してました

be like to climb it and today that dream is about to become a reality.

今日は夢が叶い、やっと現実になります！

It's bonkers.

不思議だべ

It's the height of July, it's 35 degrees down on the ground and there are people skiing up here.

今は7月。山の麓では35度の真夏だというのに、 ここではスキーやってる人たちがいる

I knew Mount Gassan gets a lot of snow, but still to see people skiing this time of year

月山が雪深いとは聞いてたけど この時期、しかもこの暑さの中

knowing how hot it is down there, it's a bit weird.

スキーをやってる人を見るのは不思議

It's a bit of anomaly.

異様だべ

Look at that.

見て見て

They've got like hats and boots and rucksacks.

ブーツに帽子、登山リュック

It's like they're climbing Mount Everest or something.

エベレスト山でも行くようだな

Whereas I've got a camera, a bottle of water, a stick and a cheese sandwich.

俺なんかカメラと水、この棒とチーズサンド

- And Nike Shoes for jogging. Nike shoes that have seen better days.

あとナイキシューズ しかもジョギング用のナイキシューズ

They need like a restaurant up here or something.

ここら辺にレストランでもないかな

- Yeah there is.

あーあるよ

Up at the peak.

頂上に

Genuinely?

え？マジ？

- Yeah.

うん

Really

ホント？

Yes.

うん

There's an actual restaurant.

ホントにレストランあるの？

- Yes like Switzerland.

おう。スイスみたいに

I don't know if you're joking or not.

冗談かましてるか分からん

- No I'm not.

ホント　ホント

You better not be, because now I feel super motivated to carry on.

なきゃキレるからな やる気が出てきた！

Oh god.

あー疲れた

All right, it's starting to take its toll.

そろそろ限界

Yeah it's a little bit tougher than I thought it'd be to be honest.

思ってたよりハードだね

- This is the fucking beginners route mate.

何言ってんだコラ！初心者コースだぞ

Oh well.

あ、そう

It's the miracle of cup noodle.

奇跡のカップ麺

How often do you eat cup noodle?

結構食べんの？カップ麺？

- Once a month.

月１くらいかな

I feel very luxury having cup ramen.

なんか、スッゲー贅沢な感じ

Eating something like this up in the mountains.

山ん中でカップラーメン食えるなんてさ

So usually cup noodles costs about 200 yen.

普通200円

But up here it's 500 yen.

ここだと500円

It comes at a premium.

プレミアだべ

I mean, it's pretty lucky it's up here in the first place.

いや！でも そもそもラッキーじゃん

- 550 yen!

550円

550 yen, thank you Risottoro.

550円だそうです リゾットロさんありがと

But I don't think the cheese bread that I packed was enough anyway, so this is actually

俺の手作りチーズサンドだけじゃ全然足らんし

pretty welcome.

ホント嬉しい

I've never felt cloud this close, this much.

これだけの雲を、この距離で感じたのは 初めてだね

Coming to your face.

顔面直撃っ感じ

- You've never felt cloud?

雲を感じた事ないんだすぺか？

I've never felt cloud.

雲を感じた事、無い

This is it. This'll be the last steep hill until the summit. mount

おし。ラストスパート。もう頂上が見えるぞ

Welcome to the highest peak of Mount Gassan.

月山の頂上へ ようこそ

.- And look at that view!

この眺め！

- Oh wait.The white is all you see.

白いだけ　ハハハハ 何も見えん

So we're on the summit of the ridge that runs across the top of the mountain.

ここが月山の頂上か

We're thinking of flying drones but in this weather it'd be impossible.

ドローン飛ばして撮影しようと思ってたけどこの風では無理だね

- It'd be gone in about 5 seconds.

５秒で無くなる

Absorb the wind.

風を吸収

Appreciate the wind.

風に感謝

We're at the peak; we're at the summit.

月山の頂上でーす

Yeah!

よっしゃー

So Chris how do you feel now?

クリス、どうよ？今の感想を

Broken.

壊れた

Spiritually, mentally, physically broken.

精神的にも、肉体的にも ぶっ壊れた

I only found at the end of our ridiculous climb at the bit coming down - which you can

特に最後の最後が恐ろしかったよ このビデオの最後で見れるけど

watch at the end of the video - it was horrific and you'll see why because it involves climbing

氷河を歩く時はちゃんとした登山ブーツを

over a glacier in really not good shoes.

履かなきゃダメだっちゃ

It was 600m up and 600m down but taking into account the others bits we did walking around

登り600m, 下がり600m 色々含めてぜーんぶで歩いた距離は

the mountain it was 8km.

8kmくらい

Total.

うん。トータルでね

An 8km walk.

歩き8km

For three years that I lived in this area, I looked at Gassan everyday and I thought

３年間、毎日毎日 月山を見ながら

I wonder what it's like up there?

頂上はどうなんだろう？って思ってた

And now I know; ridiculously cloudy.

そして今日！始めて分かった 雲しかなくて真っ白いこと

I do feel quite happy.

満足満足

I feel like I pushed myself.

すごい達成感

Sitting behind a guy who's lit a fire in a small wooden room that takes some degree of spirituality.

木造の小屋の中で火を点ける人の後ろに座るなんて 非日常的ですごい神聖なことじゃない

If you're interested in doing any Yamabushi training at mountain Yudono or Mount Haguro,

湯殿山・羽黒山の山伏道に興味がある方

you can find the details on where to stay and how to take part in the description box below.

参加方法や宿などの詳細は 以下の説明ボックスをご覧下さい

Both mountains do have accommodation available on site.

湯殿山も羽黒山も宿はあります。

But for now guys, as always many thanks for watching.

それでは皆さん いつもありがとう！

I hope you enjoyed our day of hell.

俺たちのハードな日、楽しかったでしょうか？

We'll see you next time.

ではまた今度

I'm off to roll over and die.

俺は転がって。。。 寝る

- Glacier glacier glacier

氷河、氷河、氷河

- Oh god.

マジかよ

Come on Chris.

オラさっさと行くぞ

I'm the only one on this mountain stupid enough to wear Nike trainers.

ナイキシューズ履いて 雪山に来る大馬鹿者、俺だけかな

Everyone else has mountain boots with spikes in.

普通はスパイク入りのブーツだべな

We're going down a Glacier.

氷河を降りてんよ

- So comment please.

コメントお願いしまーす

Let's never speak of ice again.

氷の話は二度としたくない

And there'd better not be more down there.

もうないよね

There'd better not be more.

もう ないよね