Location: Mount Fuji
The Aokigahara (青木 ヶ 原), known as the Sea of Trees (樹 海), is a 35 km² forest located northwest of the base of Mount Fuji between Yamanashi prefecture and Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. The forest has a historical association with demons from Japanese mythology, and there are 1,000-year-old poems that indicate that the forest is cursed. Tourism has been limited only to guarded areas and, although it is not prohibited to enter the forest, numerous warning signs are placed in several languages to help people who think about committing suicide to seek help from relatives before leaving everything.
Aokigahara Haunted forest is a vast area of virgin forests at the base of a picturesque Mount Fuji. Aokigahara Haunted forest at the base of Fuji mountain is believed to be home of demons, ghosts and other supernatural evil beings. It is difficult to trace where did this legend start. Whether it is a dense forest or the fact that poor families left girls and elderly here to die. Regardless it still carries its grim fame. It holds the second place in the World by number of suicides with over 500 recorded since 1950's. Increased rate of suicides with one each four days in 2002 officials put several signs to discourage people from killing themselves. Aokigahara is mentioned as a "Haunted Forest" episode in Destination Truth.
Aokigahara is located at the foot of Mount Fuji on its north side,
west of Lake Saiko and northeast of Lake Shōji, between the communities
of Fujikawaguchiko to the east and Narusawa to the west. Both towns
belong to Minamitsuru County and are located in Yamanashi Prefecture.
The forest extends over about 30 km² and thrives up to an altitude of
around 1300 m above sea level. It was formed around AD 864 after Mount
Fuji had erupted continuously for ten days, wide lava flows had flowed
down its northern flank and formed a broad, porous field of olivine
basalt, volcanic cobbles, pumice and tuff. The special composition of
the lava led to today's conspicuously fine-grained soil structure and
earned it its own name: Aokigahara lava. In this area, the Aokigahara
now developed and spread rapidly. In terms of developmental history, the
forest is quite young at around 1200 years, the oldest trees are
estimated to be 200 years old.
Inside Aokigahara lies the
Narusawa Ice Cave, the Fugaku Wind Cave and the Dragon Palace Cave, all
three of which have been registered as natural monuments since 1929. The
caves were created by underground lava flows, which left cavities and
tunnels after they dried up. On the western edge of Aokigahara is the
Saiko Bat Cave. The Aokigahara itself has been the main area of a
much-visited nature reserve since February 24, 1926; this in turn has
belonged entirely to the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park since 1950, which
is why the forest has been under special nature and monument protection
ever since. Today, an expressway, National Road 139, runs through
Aokigahara.
The local wildlife of the Aokigahara includes various species of
bats, mice and birds, some of which are very rare. Some of the more
common bird species include, for example, great tit, willow tit,
long-tailed tit, great spotted woodpecker, kizuki woodpecker, pine
thrush, cuckoo cuckoo, common cuckoo and jay. The forest is also home to
the shy black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the lesser Japanese mole
(Mogera imaizumii), endemic to northern and central Japan. A regular
guest of the forest is the sika deer.
The forest is also home to
numerous beetle and butterfly species, including rarities. The more
common species include, for example, the Imperial Mantle, Buckthorn
Blue, Black-brown Sneeze Butterfly and C-Moth. Most butterflies live in
plants and shrubs at the edge of the forest, but some can also be found
deep in the forest interior. Unusual spiders have been discovered in the
Dragon Palace Cave, whose way of life is adapted to the permanent cold
inside the cave. Forest pests include the pine-eating caterpillars of
Epinotia piceae.
The Aokigahara as a forest is mostly composed of
hemlock fir and hinoki cypress. In addition, various types of holly as
well as Mongolian oaks, Japanese cherry trees and Japanese maples
dominate the undergrowth. Also present: Japanese red pine, Japanese
pine, Acer distylum, small-flowered maple, Siebold's fan maple, Acer
tschonoskii, ornamental cherry birch, Chengiopanax sciadophylloides,
Clethra barbinervis, magnificent bell, Euonymus macropterus, Pieris
japonica, Japanese cherry, rhododendron dilatatum, Skimmia japonica f.
repens, Sorbus commixta and Toxicodendron trichocarpum. The numerous
flowering plants include: Artemisia princeps, Corydalis incisa,
Maianthemum dilatatum, Oplismenus undulatifolius, Japanese knotweed,
Chinese reed, Boehemeria tricuspis var. paraspicata, Cirsium nipponicum
var. incomptum, loosestrife, vetch, Vicia unijuga, spotted bellflower
and white clover. One of the botanical peculiarities in the Aokigahara
is the chlorophyll-free, parasitic Monotropastrum humile.
Especially the area near the ground and the forest floor itself are
densely and lushly overgrown with mosses and ferns. In many places the
mosses hang down like beards and give the forest interior a jungle-like
appearance. Because of the porous volcanic soil, which is very
scree-rich, trees and bushes have very shallow roots. Together with the
deceptive moss cover, the root system makes it difficult to safely walk
through the forest, and climbing the rock formations near the forest
ceiling is also associated with risks due to the porous soil.
Because of the three volcanic caves, the bat cave and the extraordinary silence in its interior, Aokigahara is officially considered a recreation and hiking area; in summer, hikers also find refuge from the heat here. Accordingly, the forest is a popular travel and excursion destination and therefore plays a not inconsiderable role in the local tourism industry. The vast majority of tourists are locals, Chinese and Europeans. Since the forest nestles directly on Lake Saiko, its shores are popular with anglers, and Saiko itself is used by water sports enthusiasts, especially in summer. The Aokigahara offers nature lovers an additional attraction due to the numerous rare animal and plant species. There are two signposted nature trails through the forest from both Fujikawaguchiko and Narusawa, the Koyodai Trail and the Gōten-niwa Trail. In addition to the three large caves as the main attractions, there are other smaller caves in Aokigahara, such as the Amayadori Wind Cave and the Hanabusa Ice Cave. To the northeast, the Yasho-no-mori Bird Park and the Iyashi-no-satori Open Air Museum border the forest. The Dragon Palace Cave is also home to the Senoumi Shrine, which has long been a local pilgrimage site.
In modern times, especially in Western media and subcultures, the
Aokigahara has become known for the alarmingly high number of corpses
that have been found. Almost without exception, the dead are suicidal,
who penetrate deep into the forest, look for suitable hiding places and
finally take their own lives (usually by hanging or poisoning). The fact
that Aokigahara of all places is often chosen as a suicide site is said
to go back to two novels by the Japanese writer Matsumoto Seichō. The
first novel was published in 1957 under the title Nami no tō
(Japanese波の塔; dt. "The Wave Tower" or "Tower of the Waves") and tells of
a young woman named Yuriko, who retires to the Aokigahara due to
rejected love and kills himself there. The second novel was published in
1960 under the title Kuroi jukai (Japanese黒い樹海; Eng. "Black Sea of
Trees") and also deals with suicides in the Aokigahara, in this case
it concerns a couple.
A rumor now widespread (because popular) is
that as early as the 19th century, impoverished families in the region
were allegedly forced to abandon infants and dependent elderly during
famines in forests like Aokigahara to die. This practice became known as
Ubasute, but historically there is no definitive evidence. However, the
spirits of the victims are said to still dwell in the forest today. From
this tradition, the urban legends about the forest began. The earliest
recordable reports of suicides found dead date from the 1950s to 1960s,
some of them from years before Seichō's novels. In July 1954, for
example, the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported the suicide of a mother
and child, and in November 1955 it reported the suicide of a worker.
Even in later years, the newspaper regularly reported on incidents in
Aokigahara, for example in October 1993 on two people who were at risk
of suicide, of which only one - and only just - could be saved.
Every year since 1971, police and firefighters as well as volunteers
have been combing the forest in search of corpses. In 2002, a total of
78 deaths were counted, the highest number up to that point. In 2003,
this figure was surpassed with 105 deaths. However, it is feared that
there are more bodies, but these were not found due to the density of
the undergrowth. Police records indicate that there were an estimated
247 attempted suicides in 2010, of which 54 were successful. It is
considered particularly problematic that the Aokigahara is recommended
to potential suicides both on the Internet and in publicly freely
available literature; for example, the Japanese author Wataru Tsurumi
published his controversial work Kanzen jisatsu manyuaru (完全自殺 マニュアル;
English book title: The Complete Manual of Suicide) in 1993, in which he
described the Aokigahara as "the perfect place to die". Since suicide is
still considered "honorable" among Japanese men to this day, there is
little political or social resistance to such publications. In addition,
manga pick up on stories and rumors surrounding the place.
Due to
the density and monotony of the undergrowth, people who leave the
official paths can quickly lose their bearings and get lost in the
forest. Since the forest floor is also extremely uneven, porous and
riddled with cavities and crevices, there is also a certain risk of
having an accident. The Aokigahara is therefore also known for its high
number of missing persons; however, most of them are quickly found
again.
Because of the corpses found, the Aokigahara is considered "cursed"
by the general public, and there are also said to be frequent hauntings
there. Supposedly, the spirits of Ubasute victims would roam the forest,
as well as ghosts and yōkai dwelling in the forest, misleading visitors
such as hikers or even driving them to suicide. Both private recordings
and serious documentation from inside Aokigahara are increasing on the
YouTube video portal.
Even today, patrols, forest workers and
volunteers regularly roam the forest to track down those at risk of
suicide and, if possible, to prevent them from committing suicide.
Forest workers report bodies found to the police and help with removal
if necessary. On the official hiking trails, near the forest entrances,
there are signs with information about the offers of the telephone
pastoral care as well as prayers and reminders. This is intended to
encourage potential suicide seekers to turn back and thereby prevent a
further increase in suicides. As a further measure to reduce suicide
attempts, the police and the press have begun to no longer publicly
disclose numbers and names of victims. In this way, the local
authorities also want to ensure that the actually positive reputation of
Aokigahara does not deteriorate further and possibly deter tourists.
Tourists, journalists and rangers mark unofficial or closed hiking
trails and trails with colorful bows and plastic tape to find their way
out of the forest. Suicidal people also often use such tapes to find
their way back if they ultimately don't want to kill themselves after
all; accordingly, the tapes often lead seekers to abandoned camps. This
attachment of plastic tape, which was actually intended as a
precautionary measure, has led to debate and criticism among
conservationists who fear that the forest will be littered. There are
also complaints about leaving tents, personal belongings and food
leftovers.
The possibility of actually finding dead bodies has
led to a negatively perceived type of “thrill tourism” in recent years
(as of 2019). A prime example of this occurred in November 2017, when
YouTuber Logan Paul entered Aokigahara with friends and breached
cordoned-off areas. There he took pictures of himself and a suicide who
had hanged himself. Paul uploaded the video to YouTube and other social
media on December 31, 2017; it caused criticism and horror worldwide.
YouTube deleted the video shortly thereafter, and Paul was forced to
remove it on social media sites.
Another negative consequence of
the forest's bad reputation is looting: thieves are regularly reported
to be combing the forest in search of abandoned wallets, credit cards
and jewellery.