Why business executives from around the world come to train deep in Japan's mountains

On the journey to reclaim the ability to sense, in an era without clear answers

Executives who take on triathlons, entrepreneurs who make ice baths a part of their daily routine, the higher people climb in business, the more they tend to seek extreme experiences. So what are the business executives who come to train as yamabushi, deep in Japan's mountains, actually looking for?

In an age where AI is replacing decision-making and the benchmarks of value are shifting, the time has come to ask again: what does it mean to live well? We are drowning in information and knowledge. But the ability to sense what the next move should be, well, that lies outside the data.

Perspectives from participants

"Over the last few years, as I become older, I have disconnected from myself and my true soul and flame."
"I've experienced professional success, but with it came detachment from my instincts, my body, and meaningful connection with others. I find myself driven more by fear of loss than by courage to create. My ego has grown rigid — I'm looking for a way to soften it through structure and surrender."

Every year, Yamabushido welcomes Silicon Valley startup founders, senior executives from major US tech companies, and artists. Many arrive at a moment of burnout or a crossroads in life. What they share is this: they are looking for answers.

What is a yamabushi?

Master Hoshino, our guide, is the 13th-generation head of a temple lodging and a practitioner of Shugendo.
He says:

"What is a yamabushi? What is Shugendo? These questions cannot be answered with knowledge. Because the way of the yamabushi is something that can only be understood through practice."

Crawling on the mountain, running like an animal, walking the cliff's edge, in these moments, there is no room for thought. We reclaim our animal senses, and alongside a reverence for nature, we sharpen our capacity to sense.

Yamabushi were once the trusted advisors of medieval lords and rulers, sought out precisely because they possessed the ability to see what lay ahead. That may be exactly why this tradition, more than 1,400 years old, is drawing the world's executives today.