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Inside creepy tourist attraction where monks mummified themselves alive

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www.dailystar.co.uk

tourists look to bask in the sun, explore idyllic locations and feast on traditional food, people who visit Japan can learn about monks who chose to be mummified alive.

In Northern Japan, you can visit one of the world's creepiest tourist attractions and take a peek at the mummified bodies of the sokushinbutsu, which are located in holy temples.It is home to dedicated monks who made the most horrifying sacrifice by enduring a three to 20-year practice to turn themselves into mummies while fully functioning.A total of 16 mummified monks, who were followers of an ancient form of Buddhism named shugendō, can be found inside after they died from a gruelling lifestyle regime.

The devoted monks passed away through "the ultimate act of self-denial" and started the transformation process by eating seeds and sipping poisonous tea, reports Escape.com.au.

Travel publication Atlas Obscura explained the chilling steps of self-mummification and wrote: "For three years, the priests would eat a special diet consisting only of nuts and seeds, while taking part in a regimen of rigorous physical activity that stripped them of their body fat.

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