The suicide forest

A trigger warning is now in affect. If you're sensitive to death or suicide this article is not for you.

This forest is in Japan at the base of Mount Fuji. It's also called Aokigahara or the sea of trees. It got it's reputation because it is one of the places in the world with a high frequency of suicides. Japan has one of the highest levels of suicide in the world. The suicide forest is in second for the amount of suicides, the golden gate bridge is in first. The problem is so bad that there are signs at the entrances of the forest and a few other places in the forest pleading with all that enter to rethink their decision. There has been 105 bodies found there every year. There is a suicide season and it's usually in the spring, more than likely March. They have stopped publishing suicide numbers.

A lot of people know about this forest because of the Logan Paul controversy. For those who don't know Logan Paul took his group to the forest and had gotten in trouble for how he handled finding a dead body. Logan claimed that he was trying to bring light to the topic of mental health and suicide. Of course the world called bullshit. He not only showed the dead body but he laughed. If he wanted to shed a light then why did he show the body then laugh? He apologized and took down (or YouTube took it down).

So besides suicide the forest had another legend attached to it. There is a legend that young men would take their elderly moms into the forest and leave them there to die. This usually happened in times of famine or drought. People who did this came from struggling families. Some resources said this could be a lie or just a legend.

There's stories called Kojiki which deal with different topics including Yomi. Yomi is the dark land of the dead. Yomi is a place where the dead dwell after their death. Once the dead has eaten there they can't come back from Yomi. Some creatures can prevent people leaving the underworld. Some people think of the suicide forest as Yomi or one version of it.

There's been books and movies based on it and some Youtube videos done about the forest. Movies include the sea of trees, the forest, grave Halloween, forest of the living dead, and Aokighara: suicide forest. Books include "suicide forest" by Jeremy Bates and "Aokigahara: The Truth Behind Japan's Suicide Forest" by Tara Devlin.

Aokigahara was formed from the volcanic eruptions of Mount Fuji. Part of the eruptions went into a lake and decided it into 3. The lava also makes caves which could make body recovery difficult. There is a bat cave and a frozen cave (Narusawa Ice Cave).

Because of all of the death connected to it, it is believed to be haunted. The locals believe that the forest is home to yurei, or ghosts with unfinished business who are unable to enjoy peace in the afterlife. There are some people who may not even talk about it because yureis make them nervous or scared. There is also Tengu, a mythical Japanese bird demon. They also think that because of the spirits compasses tend to act weird in the forest.

When it comes to the bodies a lot are not found. Yearly and maybe even monthly searches are done for bodies. There are people who camp in the forest and when body recovery groups or forest workers come across this people they check on them to make sure they are ok. It is believed that the campers are not sure of their decision to kill themselves. When they are found they are placed in a special room. They are kept in this room until they are claimed or disposed of. There are people who have traveled to die in the forest from all over the world. They have put measures in place to stop suicides including raising railings on bridges and teaching volunteers how to talk to people who are believed to be suicidal.

The forest is so dense that people get lost. Even advance hikers are advised to stick to the trails. If you venture into the forest you may see personal items left behind by suicide victims. If you are sensitive to seeing dead bodies or the idea of suicide then going to the forest may not be for you or maybe something to do cautiously. You may come across things you don't want to see.