Aokigahara forest is located at the foot of Mt.Fuji and is well known to be the most infamous forest in Japan. Also known as Aokigahara Jukai (The Sea of Trees), Suicide Forest, and Japan's Demon Forest. Called "the perfect place to die" the forest is the most popular suicide spot in Japan and the 2nd most popular place for suicides in the world (the first being San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge). For a long time Aokigahara forest has been a forest associated with death, demons and evil spirits even before the frequent occurrence of suicides started.
Since the 1950's over 500 suicides have been confirmed in the forest, at an increasing rate between 10 and 30 suicides per year. Recently these numbers have increased far more with a record of 78 suicides in 2002.
What I would like to base my content on for this forest
Though this is what the forest is known for, I would not like to focus on this aspect of the forest as I find it is rather graphic and has no association to the actual natural aspects of the forest. These are just facts I found out about what the forest is actually known as. Through my research I have actually found more interesting aspects and angles to focus on with this forest such as the history of how the forest started to grow after the eruption of Mt. Fuji and about the magnetic volcanic rocks which the forest floor is made of as well as the lack of wildlife and the wind and ice cave within the forest.
A little more about the forest itself
It is dark inside the forest and the trees are thick and dense, the canopies tend to block out almost all sunlight and the forest is completely silent due to lack of wildlife.
The forest grew over the dried lava that spilled into the huge lake Senoumi in 864 AD after Mt.Fuji (an active volcano) erupted 1,200 years ago. The lava divided Senoumi into the three smaller lakes that exist today and they are still connected by underground waterways. Over time the foliage on the dried lava grew thick and dense and the forest earned the name Jukai "The Sea of Trees" as from above that is what it appears to look like. 30 square kilometers or so of unbroken green all year round.
Magnetic Rocks
In the forest there has been a common experience of compasses, cell phones, and GPS systems being rendered useless due to rich deposits of magnetic iron in the forest floor's volcanic soil and rocks. Top of the range equipment works but cheaper navigational items fail. The forest floor is mostly made up of volcanic rock which is very hard and strong and can't be penetrated easily by man-made tools or machines.
In the forest there has been a common experience of compasses, cell phones, and GPS systems being rendered useless due to rich deposits of magnetic iron in the forest floor's volcanic soil and rocks. Top of the range equipment works but cheaper navigational items fail. The forest floor is mostly made up of volcanic rock which is very hard and strong and can't be penetrated easily by man-made tools or machines.
There appears to be no evidence of wildlife within the forest, some studies link that it is due to radon gas that drives off the animals and causes people to become depressed.
Forest Caves
The forest also contains a few rocky and icy caverns which are popular tourist destinations.
The forest also contains a few rocky and icy caverns which are popular tourist destinations.
Wind Cave (fugaku fuketsu)
The Fugaku Wind cave is one of natural monuments associated with two other caves "Bat cave" and "Ice cave" formed by the lava flow from Mt.Fuji's eruption, located in Aokigahara forest. The average temperature inside the cave is 3 degrees Celsius all year round. The cave is vertical and the total extension of the cave is 201m and 8.7m high and takes 15 minutes to walk through the entire cave. In the early stages of Showa period Japan this cave was used as a cold storage for silkworms and seeds. Mysteriously sounds do not echo within the cave. The characteristic of this cave is that wind goes through by a difference of temperature and the wind pressure at the entrance and exit of the cave is much different to that outside the cave.
Narusawa Ice Cave
Narusawa Ice cave is one of the other natural monuments that was created by the lava flow. The cave goes down vertically and is 153m deep. Even during the heats of mid summer there is ice inside the cave and the average temperature is around 0 degrees celsius. There is ice inside the cave all year round and since the early 1900s the cave was used to store ice for use around the year. There are also icicles everywhere in the cave and they can sometimes form up to 90ft long and about 1.5ft wide.
There is also a little shrine hidden in a dark area of the cave with many offerings to the souls of the dead which are believed to be wandering around the area. It takes roughly 30 minutes to walk through the cave and as you go deeper, the walls are lined with solid ice.
Sources
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/07/23/aokigahara-japans-haunted-forest-of-death/
The Fugaku Wind cave is one of natural monuments associated with two other caves "Bat cave" and "Ice cave" formed by the lava flow from Mt.Fuji's eruption, located in Aokigahara forest. The average temperature inside the cave is 3 degrees Celsius all year round. The cave is vertical and the total extension of the cave is 201m and 8.7m high and takes 15 minutes to walk through the entire cave. In the early stages of Showa period Japan this cave was used as a cold storage for silkworms and seeds. Mysteriously sounds do not echo within the cave. The characteristic of this cave is that wind goes through by a difference of temperature and the wind pressure at the entrance and exit of the cave is much different to that outside the cave.
Narusawa Ice Cave
Narusawa Ice cave is one of the other natural monuments that was created by the lava flow. The cave goes down vertically and is 153m deep. Even during the heats of mid summer there is ice inside the cave and the average temperature is around 0 degrees celsius. There is ice inside the cave all year round and since the early 1900s the cave was used to store ice for use around the year. There are also icicles everywhere in the cave and they can sometimes form up to 90ft long and about 1.5ft wide.
There is also a little shrine hidden in a dark area of the cave with many offerings to the souls of the dead which are believed to be wandering around the area. It takes roughly 30 minutes to walk through the cave and as you go deeper, the walls are lined with solid ice.
Sources
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/07/23/aokigahara-japans-haunted-forest-of-death/
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