[ENTER MT. KATATSUMURI]
[Nazi soldiers stand guard, pacing back and forth at the entrance.]
EIKICHI: I don't think reasoning with them is gonna do any good, so we can fight them, or take the mountain trail over here.
EIKICHI: What should we do? It doesn't matter to me either way.
YUKINO: We don't have time to bullshit around! Let's go in the direct route!
MAYA: True, the direct route is much shorter, but it's not going to be easy to do under these circumstances.
MAYA: Even if we take a slightly longer route, making a detour might be the faster way in the long run.
LISA: What should we do, Tatsuya?

 - We'll take them head on
 - We'll take a detour

[If you choose the direct route, you'll have several difficult battles, but get to Caracol much faster. The back route is a maze that takes longer to get through. If your characters' levels are low OR you want to level up your new Personae, I'd recommend the back route. If you're impatient and prepared, go in the front way. If you plan to go in the front, I suggest going to the Factory and leveling up your new Personae a bit before you start. Also. If your Japanese skills are extremely poor, I'd suggest the direct route. I'll do my best to walk you through the maze, which requires Japanese reading ability, or a hell of a lot of trial and error. Choose whichever path suits your taste; the end result is the same.]
 

The straight route through Mt. Katatsumuri isn't all that different from the back way. When you first start you'll enter a battle against four guards and a captain, which can be hard if you're not prepared, so be sure to have healed before. After that, it is a straightforward dungeon. There are no treasure chests anywhere, no secret paths, and the monsters are all leveled to their mid-thirties. If you have the custom Personae, you might want to level them up a bit first, since their initial spells are pretty useless. Get them high enough that they have their Maha-whatever, it'll make the battles much easier. Don't count on getting through the dungeon by making contacts--most of the monsters you'll encounter are either Nazis or Masquerade, neither of which are interested in talking to you. Overall, it's a quick and sweet way to level up. Be sure to bring items with you.

[Tatsuya flicks his lighter.]
YUKINO: Okay, then! 
[The gang of five goes to fight the Nazis blocking the path.]
YUKINO: Get out of my way!

[Talk to the characters after battle]
EIKICHI: We don't need this crap! Yukino's friend is in trouble, and if we don't hurry, we might be too late to stop Jun.
MAYA: To break in properly, you've got to strike at the heart! There's only five of us, but that doesn't matter; let's hurry!
YUKINO: As Fujii-san's assistant, I came here so many times... Oshou-san and I would discuss Zen, and we'd photograph the star-lit sky...it was such an important place to me...
YUKINO: Shit, they've pissed me off!
 

MAYA: Okay, so that's the decision, right? Let's sneak through the overgrowth and head in through the mountain trail!

[Head through the exit on the right-hand side. If you try to go too near the path, Lisa yells at you.]

[GOING UP MT. KATATSUMURI]
YUKINO: This is the first time I've climbed up this way; I hope we don't get lost and waste time...
MAYA: Yukki, there's something written on that sign over there. It looks like it might be a guidepost or something like that. Let's take a look.

LEFT SIGN: It is said that the fairy tale, "The Lost Child's Guidepost Jizou" was based on an actual event that happened a long time ago on Mt. Katatsumuri.
LEFT SIGN: The story of the fairy tale "The Lost Child's Guidepost Jizou" [1] is written on the board. Do you want to read it?

 - Yes
 - No

[THE STORY, IF YOU CHOOSE TO READ IT]
LEFT SIGN: "The Lost Child's Guidepost Jizou"--Author and Date Unknown (The poem is on the sign next to this one.)
LEFT SIGN: Deep within this forest, the spirits of small children who died without understanding the meaning of their own deaths continued to wander.
LEFT SIGN: A kind traveling monk who thought this was very sad ventured into the forest all on his own, and constructed jizou for a memorial service.
LEFT SIGN: He continued to set up jizou that had poems carved into them, his only concern for the spirits to be able to safely escape the forest and reach Nirvana.
LEFT SIGN: The spirits of the children, observing the monk who comforted them, wished for him to stay in the forest.
LEFT SIGN: In the end, when the six jizou statues had been set up to show the way out of the forest, the spirits of the children were able to leave and reach Nirvana.
LEFT SIGN: However, when he finished his task, the monk was not able to reach the exit. He followed the jizou, but to no avail.
LEFT SIGN: For, while the monk built the jizou, only wishing for the spirits of the children to be able to escape the forest and reach Nirvana...
LEFT SIGN: The spirits of the children continued to wish for the kindly monk to always remain in the forest.
LEFT SIGN: Which of the wishes did the jizou grant? Sadly, the monk was never able to leave the forest.
LEFT SIGN: The unique points of this fairy tale are the children's selfishness, which was masked by their naivété, and the moral of the story: depending on the situation, one’s thoughts and feelings do affect others.
LEFT SIGN: The six landmark jizou are still standing today. Folk tales have made them into boundary gods, and they are said to be the six jizou of Sae-No-Kami, the God of Obstruction.

RIGHT SIGN: Beyond this is the forest of The Lost Child's Guidepost Jizou. Please carefully read the following warnings. Also, please do not go into the forest alone.
RIGHT SIGN: Warnings For Entering The Forest:
RIGHT SIGN: In order to not get lost in the forest, continue in the direction that the landmark jizou points.
RIGHT SIGN: Also, please make sure to follow the jizou in the same order as the progression of the poem that appears in the fairy tale.
RIGHT SIGN: Just as told in the fairy tale, one stanza of the poem is carved in each of the jizou.
RIGHT SIGN: You will be able to safely reach the exit of the forest if you follow the jizou in the correct order of the poem, and turn in the direction that the jizou point.
RIGHT SIGN: The poem "The Lost Child's Guidepost Jizou" [The fairy tale is on the sign next to this one.]

TRANSLATION OF THE POEM (provided for the curious) Deep, deep, in the mountain forest Uninvited lost children come The light of the sun opens the day The stars in the sky open the night Line up, line up, and point it out That is the lost children's guidepost That is the deep love for which no words exist At the place indicated by the untold jizou Is the faraway, faraway opening of the forest

RIGHT SIGN: Be careful of fakes!
RIGHT SIGN: Fake jizou have been placed here and there. It may be difficult to find the apparent differences, but the fakes have mistakes in the poem carved upon them.
RIGHT SIGN: Look carefully for the jizou, and make sure you confirm the contents of the poem as you continue in the correct direction that the jizou points.

[The secret to this puzzle is not understanding what the words mean, or the pronounciation of the words, though both are provided, just in case you’re curious. These are the three things to keep in mind while you're going through:
1) What you need to do is look VERY CLOSELY at the correct poem (so either copy it down VERY CAREFULLY by yourself, or print out the sample from here) and find the stones that have the right poem stanzas written on them. Sometimes, the mistakes are easy to spot (i.e. an omitted word) and other times they're a lot harder to spot [a very small difference in one kanji].
2) The second key point is that just because you go north through one path, backtracking will NOT necessarily lead directly back the way you came. If you get lost, you're just going to have to wander around until you make your way back to the stones that will lead you in the correct direction.
3) It may be initially unclear which way the statues are pointing--the best way to figure this out is to look at the statue from the side. There is a piece extending out from the larger slab--it looks like this: _[]. What you want to do is go in the direction the extension is pointing. ]

[First Part: To the north, there is a jizou with a mistake on it. To the south, there is a sign that points in the correct direction. Follow the sign west into the forest.
Second Part: There are jizou to the north, near southwest, and far southwest. Follow the far southwest one south to the next area.
Third Part: This is a donut-shaped area. There is a jizou to the west and south. Take the path leading west. (Trish is on the east side.)
Fourth Part: Take the jizou to the southwest. It's the only one there.
Fifth Part: Double back, and head north. You'll end up in a different area than you came from.
Sixth Part: This one is tricky. Go up north, and go through the path to the east. Instead of going into another area, you'll just pass through a tunnel and find the correct statue. Go south into the next area.
Seventh Part: Go west to the exit of the maze forest.]

[Once you get out, head through the rest of the forest until you reach an area with a shrine to the north, and stone stairs to the west. Go in the temple for an easy boss fight against Nazis. This fight happens regardless of which route you take, and the two paths converge here. It's all a matter of how long you choose to spend getting to this point.]

[1] A jizou is a statue of Khsitigarbha, the bodhisattva who watches over children, travelers, and the underworld. It is most often associated with children in Japan.
 

YOUNG MONK: Uh oh...we're in big trouble...
CHIEF PRIEST: We'll win!
CHIEF PRIEST: Persistence! Alertness! Invincibility!
CHIEF PRIEST: Remember the technique I taught you--Heroic Old-Style Martial Arts! We absolutely won't be driven away by flying objects! Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
EIKICHI'S VOICE: Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[The party jumps into battle.]
YUKINO: I'm in a hurry! Anyone who wants to die, come and get it!
EIKICHI: You bastards! Yukino’s upset and it’s all your fault!

[Battle finishes.]
YUKINO: Oshou-san! [2] Um...Shunsuke-san... where is Shunsuke-san?!
CHIEF PRIEST: When Shunsuke-kun saw those troops falling from the sky, he headed towards the peak.
(Chief Priest: A head priest who has helped Fujii and Yukino out on many occasions. He is both kind and strict and very wise. He does seem to be a user of old fashioned martial arts.)
YUKINO: No way... at a time like this, wouldn't it have been better for him not to follow his instincts?
YUKINO: Why didn't you stop him?
CHIEF PRIEST: Well, would you have been able to stop him?
YUKINO: I-I'm sorry.
CHIEF PRIEST: No one has the right to stop a warrior walking his chosen path.
CHIEF PRIEST: Sometimes, if that warrior has too many dreams, he may destroy himself. A true human is a living thing of profound deeds.
CHIEF PRIEST: I have something for you Shunsuke-kun placed in my care.
YUKINO: This Leica [3] is Shunsuke-san's treasure.
CHIEF PRIEST: Shunsuke-kun received this from his father before he died. He always talked about it.
CHIEF PRIEST: He said that someday, when you decided that you really wanted to be a photographer, he would give it to you.
CHIEF PRIEST: The hopes and dreams of a person are something that is passed down and received by each generation.
CHIEF PRIEST: If, for some reason, you do not think you have the right to this, then please return it to him yourself.
MAYA: Thank you very much. You've been very helpful!
YOUNG MONK: Oshou-sama! The sky...the sky!
[There is FMV of meteors falling over Caracol.]
CHIEF PRIEST: Is that--the rumored Leonid meteor shower? It's almost like the roar of a lion.
CHIEF PRIEST: At a time like this, for stars to fall from the sky... this is a bad omen...
MAYA: "The roar of the lion echoes far and wide." We don't have much time until the Grand Cross aligns! Caracol must be at the peak; let's hurry!

[Talk to party members]
EIKICHI: To put yourself in danger and go anywhere for your dreams... yeah, that's a romantic man for you!
EIKICHI: But, you know... you also have to think about the feelings of the people you leave behind.
LISA: The next part of the Oracle of Maiya is: "the five skulls that shine in hell"...it's getting closer and closer to completion.
LISA: Does Jun really intend to destroy the world? Why did he become the Joker? Tatsuya, I don't get it!
MAYA: Tatsuya-kun...I wonder if there's anything I can do for Jun-kun? I don't want anyone else to suffer for my sake.
YUKINO: I'm sorry, Suou. I kind of freaked out there. Shunsuke-san, I hope you're safe.
CHIEF PRIEST: The Leonid meteor shower happens when the debris belt that encircles the sun and the earth's orbit overlap. It looks as if the meteors are falling from the direction of the Leo constellation, hence the naming of the phenomenon.
CHIEF PRIEST: This only happens at a set time every year, and there is no way we should be seeing it now.
CHIEF PRIEST: Talk about something suspicious bringing about suspicious events... so rumors have caused this level of abnormality...

[Try to leave the shrine. Maya stands next to a bed of flowers.]
MAYA: This is a Nemophila.
YUKINO: Maya-san? What's going on? If we don't get to the peak quickly--
[Maya takes one of the flowers and holds it to her chest.]

[2] Oshou-san is a respectful way of addressing a Buddhist priest. 
[3] A Leica is a kind of German camera.

[Leave the shrine and head up the stone stairs to the west. Go through about four areas, and you'll reach the entrance to Caracol. Save, make sure you're healed, and head up the stairs.]