It's a hard life in the mountains, but these Japanese drummers are loving it

TNP PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

They have a gigantic house in the mountains, which measures 40,000 sq m.

Envious? Don’t be.

Life there is so hard there that many trainees have taken to escaping the boot camp in the middle of the night.

Drum Tao members, consisting Japanese drum artistes, aged between 18 and 40, have to go through their first few years of training living a secluded life in the mountains in Grandioso in Aso Kuju National Park on Kyushu Island.

No girlfriends or boyfriends, no mobile phones, no sweets, no internet access and no contact with family and friends.

Wait. there's more.These self-confessed art warriors have to wake up at 5am every day and jog 20km, do 200 sit-ups and an equal number of push-ups.

But these artistes say it’s worth it because of the “miracle of Tao”.