Picture this: you’re wandering along a crumbling red brick wall, surrounded by a water-filled moat, serenaded by the gentle buzz of motorbikes and the aroma of sizzling garlic and lemongrass. Welcome to Chiang Mai Old City — a square kilometer of magic tucked inside the northern hills of Thailand.

Welcome to a place where the line between the living and the dead feels paper-thin. A place where mist clings to the rocky earth, the air stings with sulfur, and volcanic vents hiss like whispers from beneath the ground. This is Mount Osorezan, often translated as the “Mountain of Fear,” one of Japan’s most spiritual—and strangest—destinations.