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This article covers potentially sensitive and upsetting topics including suicide and self-harm. Please do not read if you are triggered by this topic, or are prone to thoughts of self-harm yourself. If you or someone you know is contemplating self-harm, please reach out. Seek help via a trusted friend or family member. You can also contact one of the hotlines listed below:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US): 1-800-273-8255
International Suicide Hotline/Resources
Remember, life is precious and you are loved!
Aokigahara: The Sea of Trees
Aokigahara Forest (青木ヶ原) – also known as Jukai (樹海), the “sea of trees” – is a deep forest at the base of Mt. Fuji. The evergreen trees of this virgin forest form a thick, dense blanket. Its canopy muffles the sounds of any wind or wildlife. The result is an eerie outdoor version of a soundproof room.
Aokigahara is as lovely as it is haunting. One step in and you feel as if the very land itself is harboring a deep, dark secret.
It is.
Aokigahara Forest, despite its vast wooded landscape and natural beauty, is known as “the suicide forest. It’s ” a morbid yet fitting nickname given the history and tragedies that are known to go on between the trees.
The forest sprung up from the lava left behind in the aftermath of what was the most powerful eruption of Mt. Fuji in over 3500 years, called the Jogan Eruption. Shinto priests believed this was divine punishment for neglecting their duties. This critical event humbled the people of the entire country at the time.
Some worshiped the mountain as a god. The volcano of Mount Fuji does, in fact, have its own deity, Asama no Okami. The Kawaguchi Asama Shrine on Mount Fuji, dedicated to this deity, is now one of Fuji’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is easy to see why such a place would be embodied with such power.
The Legends of the Forest
The woods invoke awe and inspiration for those who know of Aokigahara’s spiritual reputation. They also elicit fear from many citizens of Japan. That fear infects people from around the world who know its legend. For centuries, tales of supernatural eeriness have surrounded this place.
Aokigahara was already steeped in folklore and tales from long ago, of various yokai and spirits who called this place home. Many also knew it as a place where Buddhist monks starved themselves to death as a form of purification.
Many had heard of the forest’s reputation as a prime location for ubasute (姥捨て) – the supposed practice of leaving behind a sick or elderly relative (particularly a woman) one could no longer care for to perish in the woods. Some argue that ubasute is an urban legend. Either way, it shows the pull that the forest has on people’s imaginations.
Because of these legends, many believed the vengeful spirits of those who died here haunted the living. These tortured souls prowled the forest grounds for eternity.
Romanticizing a Dark History

However, it wasn’t until recently that people thought of the forest as “the perfect place to die.” Aokigahara is the second most common place for suicide after The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It’s the final resting place for at least 100 souls per year. And those are only the ones who were discovered and recorded.
Experts say the trend began with the 1960 novel by popular Japanese author Matsumoto Seicho (松本清張せ), Tower of Waves (波の塔). Readers flocked to its plot involving the suicide of two young lovers in the same forest. Copycat media soon featured the forest as well. Examples include the 2016 American horror film The Forest and the drama series Sea of Trees.
The original novel was purely fictional. But the legend of Aokigahara as an ideal place to die caught on.
Why Aokigahara?
So why this forest? There are several reasons people believe those contemplating their final moments choose to come here.
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The first is that Shinto, Japan’s native religion, holds a deep reverence for nature. The Shinto faith holds that nature is filled with deities. Believers also see tall mountains as gateways to the heavens, and Mount Fuji already occupied prime space in Japanese mountain worship. That makes Aokigahara the “perfect place to die”: surrounded by nature, and close to the gods and spirits.
Given this, the birth of the legend makes sense. But the people who make Aokigahara their final resting place are anything but fictional. It should go without saying but suicide is a serious issue we shouldn’t romanticize [1].
Japan’s History of Suicide

You can see why popularizing a location for suicide is problematic. Suicide is already the leading cause of death in Japanese men between 20-44. That number is also rising in young adults facing struggles with school and “fitting in”.
At one time, Japanese culture held suicide to be an “honorable” death. This was especially true within samurai classes and noble families. (In the samurai ethos, it was better to die than to live a life that disgraced one’s name and family.)
This history, along with the strong social stigma against mental illness, has only made these numbers worse. Fortunately, the country has made progress in countering these attitudes. As a result, Japan hit its lowest suicide rate in 37 years. Sadly, however, rates are still climbing among teenagers [2].
Controversy in Media: Is There A Right Way to Portray It?
As mentioned above, certain portrayals of Aokigahara as primarily a forest of death have sparked controversy. However, none is probably as infamous as the outrage caused in late 2018 by YouTuber Logan Paul.
Paul made a general ass of himself during his travels in Japan. But the most upsetting was by far his visit to Aokigahara itself. Paul blatantly ignored the rules and the ribbons and wandered off the path. There, he found himself face-to-face with the recently deceased corpse of a young man hanging from a tree.
He didn’t quickly cut off the power and alert the authorities. Rather, he continued to not only film the body of the victim but also laugh and make jokes about it. Later, he attempted to justify this as his “initial reaction when shocked.” Enraged viewers spoke out against him and YouTube itself.
Ultimately, Paul deleted the heinous post and made a public apology. (How sincere he was is debatable.) He supposedly even donated $1 million to a suicide prevention charity. He also made posts calling for awareness in an attempt to undo his misdeeds.
But this incident shined a light on other issues.
Paul’s actions displayed the way the Aokigahara is viewed by those outside Japan. It demonstrated how the media’s portrayal enhances only the horror aspect of the forest while neglecting its cultural significance. And, most importantly, it laid bare the reputation the forest holds as a haven for suicide. Such attention does little to discourage people from self-harm [3].
A Bevvy of Myths

Thanks to factors such as this, a myriad of myths and exaggerations surround Aokigahara. I will attempt to debunk a few here, beginning with one point I already mentioned above.
The first is that people in Japan view suicide as “honorable.” Historically, this is indeed factual, at least among certain sectors of past society. But those days are long gone. While some may personally believe this, it doesn’t hold true for the population at large.
To those who are affected and left behind, suicide is a tragedy. To those who are considering it, it is simply what they feel is their “only way out.” The act of taking one’s life is a last resort resulting from severe depression or mental illness.
In Aokigihara, you can see positive messages strewn along the path and left behind trail markers. They remind people that life is precious. They exist to provide one last bit of hope, one last ray of light. The authors hope to reach those wandering in who never planned to wander out.
Another myth about the forest is that there is no way to navigate it. This legend holds that all phone service and even compass usage is cut off once you enter. (Let’s call this the “Blair Witch myth.”)
As in any forest, service may be poor, or at least not as good as in more urban areas. But you can use phones and at the very least compasses on the marked paths of the woods. You may have trouble in areas where the land has become magnetized due to the lava and its composition. But it’s flatly not true that compasses don’t work anywhere in Aokigahara.
The Legends of Aokigahara Don’t End There
Some other interesting myths about the forest that have trended from time to time are:
- There is no wildlife in the forest. (There are plenty of small animals, even some larger ones, that are just not seen so much during the day.)
- You will find dead bodies along the path. (The likelihood of finding a body is very slim if you stay on course. Any victims found are usually way off the path, discovered by forest sweepers whose job is to search for them.)
- There is a hidden village of people who, in the moment of truth, decided not to die. (There are some buildings, in many cases old guesthouses and abandoned homes or hotels.)
- There is a “secret religion” that has emerged in the forest. (The author of the blog post below tells of a brief encounter with an old man he met in a dojo in the woods with his “own religion”. Could this one be true? We may never know. The old man eerily left him with the words, “There are secrets underway that we cannot discuss.”)[4]
Suicide Prevention at Aokigahara
In the early 2000s, Japan buckled down on reducing the country’s rising suicide rates. It took several actions to help increase preventive measures and available help for those at risk. Aokigahara seeks to do the same.
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The number of suicides in Aokigahara has supposedly decreased since 2012. However, the Japanese government no longer posts these statistics publicly. The reasoning is that doing so drew more attention to the “suicide forest.”
The parking lots leading to Aokighara now feature surveillance cameras that record visitors entering the forest. Park monitors and security guards regularly check for suspicious behavior. Park sweepers survey the parks beyond the path and follow the ribbon trails. They aim to find potential victims before it’s too late. At worst, they bring home the bodies of those who didn’t make it.
There are messages of love and encouragement plastered all over. Volunteers and staff have posted help hotline numbers everywhere so they’re easily seen.
The official website for Yamanashi Prefecture also lists details about suicide prevention measures. Documents and PDFs on their site thoroughly explain some of their recent policies and activities[5].
Bringing Life to a Forest of Death
Given this tragic history, why would anyone visit Aokigahara? Can you even visit it? Should you?
There is no specified entrance, and it is not blocked off. So Aokigahara is pretty easy to access for just about any individual. There are set hiking trails and even guided tours, so it’s easy enough to visit this forest just to sightsee. Contrary to the negative image the forest has been given in recent years thanks to the aforementioned forms of media, the fact remains that Aoikigahara is still first and foremost a forest and a landmark.
There are actually several tourist-geared tours and hiking courses here, and being in a prime location – at the foot of Mount Fuji, and surrounded by other natural attractions – Aokigahara has great potential for being a beautiful sightseeing spot, too. It is a mystical spot with a great historical background and a deep spiritual reverence[6].
Just like the Golden Gate Bridge is not nicknamed the “Suicide Bridge” despite statistically holding the highest number of recorded suicides in the world, Aokigahara should not have to live with the label of “Suicide Forest” for ranking at number two. Many in Japan desperately wish for a “re-brand” of the forest, wanting nothing more than to show the people of the world its natural beauty rather than its unfortunate association with death.
Perhaps if more people took the time to actually visit and spend time exploring nature (safely, of course) and learning more about the history of the spot and the surrounding landmarks, they could help debunk the myths, dispel the stigma, and drive its popularity as an attraction for visitors who want to go home and tell their families about it, rather than wanting to stay for good [6].
Tips When Visiting The Forest
ALWAYS Stay on the Trail
It is there for a reason. And even if your phone and compass are working, there is a reason the forest is notorious for people getting lost: the tangled trees and winding paths make it near impossible to navigate without guided direction. Also, wandering off-trail increases the likelihood of stumbling upon something you might not want to see.
Do NOT Follow Ribbons
If you see ribbons there that are not your own, please leave them be. While ribbons are often left by travelers and hikers to find their way out, they are also often left by those who go their to die and hope for the forest sweepers to find their bodies. Please leave the ribbon following to the professionals.
Bring Home Your Ribbons
When using ribbons to help find your own way out, make sure to take them down and bring them out of the forest with you when you leave. For one, you should not litter. But also, because forest sweepers regularly check the forest for potential victims, leaving behind a ribbon could have them following yours and finding nothing at the end, thereby wasting time that could have been spent possibly finding and saving someone else.
Leave Encouraging Messages and Stickers
As you walk the forest you will likely find many messages of love and encouragement to those contemplating death. The good news is, sometimes, they really do help! There have been stories of people who have wandered in, contemplated for a day, and then realized what they were doing, the families they were leaving behind, wandered out the next day, and sought help. If you are going to leave anything behind, leave messages of love! (Some signs that are seen are messages such as “Your life matters,” “Your family loves you,” and more.)
Sources
[1] 年齢のとなえ方に関する法律. Wikipedia JP
[2] Japan’s suicide rate drops to its lowest point in 37 years. PIME Asia News
[3] 【動画あり】ローガン・ポールが樹海で自殺者の死体を撮影した動画を投稿して大炎上. Kimama News
[4] Link no longer active
[5] 富士・東部保健所における自殺防止の取り組みについて. Yamanashi Prefecture
[6] なぜ人は「樹海」に惹かれるのか?青木ヶ原に観光客が急増のワケ. MAG2News
[7] 富士山・青木ヶ原樹海の行き方・歩き方・楽しみ方!Fuji Net