A towering 5,000 feet high, with more than 7,000 steps, Mount Tai, in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, is known for turning legs to jelly for anyone game for scaling to the top.

Though not a seasoned hiker to begin with, the filmmaker became the first person to complete the world’s longest trail network.

Visitors looking for the "real Japan" may find it on a new long trail two hours from Tokyo that shows off the country's ...