Discussion Aokigahara/Suicide Forest Megathread

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

I went here recently. There's no other place in the world that's exactly like 青黄ヶ原樹海 when you're inside the forest the world is completely still and quiet. Few people visit many of the trails, at least when I went, because it is notoriously difficult to go there unless you have a car. People who pass on in this forest are extremely determined, I feel like, as it is difficult to access and once you're inside you can easily get lost or lose your foothold due to the raised grooves of the tree roots and many fallen trees. I found out difficult to walk inside the forest and almost fell several times, but my legs are weak. It is incredibly peaceful and tranquil though, not scary at all. I didn't see anything perturbing except faint traces of tape where someone had been making a path deeper inside the forest. I did not follow. Within a few moments, you realize why people chose to come here, it is mostly untouched by human hands and is free of the constant noise you will be bombarded with in cities. とても静かとおもいます

 

[busybee]

I like the idea of the strings they use to enter the forest. You can take one last walk in silence and as the string ends you feel either relieved or anxious. It seems like the coin flip method, but more impactful, so you can assure yourself of your own feelings and make a better final decision, may it be a rope or the walk back.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

I can imagine that dying in nature in a place where humans actually are belonging is an additional relief from all agony and pain induced by society. Beautiful pictures btw! Thx for posting!!

 

[Hikikomori1]

I went here recently. There's no other place in the world that's exactly like 青黄ヶ原樹海 when you're inside the forest the world is completely still and quiet. Few people visit many of the trails, at least when I went, because it is notoriously difficult to go there unless you have a car. People who pass on in this forest are extremely determined, I feel like, as it is difficult to access and once you're inside you can easily get lost or lose your foothold due to the raised grooves of the tree roots and many fallen trees. I found out difficult to walk inside the forest and almost fell several times, but my legs are weak. It is incredibly peaceful and tranquil though, not scary at all. I didn't see anything perturbing except faint traces of tape where someone had been making a path deeper inside the forest. I did not follow. Within a few moments, you realize why people chose to come here, it is mostly untouched by human hands and is free of the constant noise you will be bombarded with in cities. とても静かとおもいます

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Very insightful post thanks for sharing the pictures.

I like the idea of the strings they use to enter the forest. You can take one last walk in silence and as the string ends you feel either relieved or anxious. It seems like the coin flip method, but more impactful, so you can assure yourself of your own feelings and make a better final decision, may it be a rope or the walk back.

Yeah its like you are walking to your destiny.

I can imagine that dying in nature in a place where humans actually are belonging is an additional relief from all agony and pain induced by society. Beautiful pictures btw! Thx for posting!!

And yet because it is a tourist attraction society comes in and disturbs the dead especially YouTubers.

 

[zarigueya]

There is a song about Aokigahara called Monster Forest by Berndsen

 

[Hikikomori1]

There is a song about Aokigahara called Monster Forest by Berndsen

Just listened to it. It sounds like something that would have came out in the 80s.



I like this one.

 

[sserafim]

I love the idea of dying there…I would go but sadly I'm broke

 

[Hikikomori1]

I love the idea of dying there…I would go but sadly I'm broke

Same.

 

[peaches]

I went here recently. There's no other place in the world that's exactly like 青黄ヶ原樹海 when you're inside the forest the world is completely still and quiet. Few people visit many of the trails, at least when I went, because it is notoriously difficult to go there unless you have a car. People who pass on in this forest are extremely determined, I feel like, as it is difficult to access and once you're inside you can easily get lost or lose your foothold due to the raised grooves of the tree roots and many fallen trees. I found out difficult to walk inside the forest and almost fell several times, but my legs are weak. It is incredibly peaceful and tranquil though, not scary at all. I didn't see anything perturbing except faint traces of tape where someone had been making a path deeper inside the forest. I did not follow. Within a few moments, you realize why people chose to come here, it is mostly untouched by human hands and is free of the constant noise you will be bombarded with in cities. とても静かとおもいます

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Looks so peaceful.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Looks so peaceful.

It really is. It truly lives up to it's name as a canopy/sea of trees. You can't hear anything inside the forest hardly and it is almost completely silent. In my experience, there are few people around because it is considerably challenging to go there in the first place, and many tourists only stop at the nearby Mt. Fuji attractions fugakufuketsu (wind cave) or narusawa hyouketsu (ice cave) and don't venture into the nearby forest.

Sometimes you will hear a tree branch cracking or falling as many of the trees are unstable or downed completely with branches snapping apart. I never heard a peep from any animals and only saw a pair of two other people during my walk who kept to themselves. I don't think any wildlife lives there. Not even birds or large insects.

I did not expect everything to be so still and quiet. I was under the impression that lots of people visit the forest but this was not the case when I was in Japan, however, it is massive and stretches for miles and miles with multiple entry points and sprawling trails.

I believe it is possible to get into the forest easily around all of the Mt. Fuji caves and little tourist shops, so perhaps people are just going inside from all angles when they visit and end up never meeting because of just how huge in scale the place is. I have heard people camp there but I honestly don't know how this is possible because the ground is completely elevated and bumpy due to all the uniquely shaped tree roots everywhere.

I never experienced anything like it. The complete absence of noise as well as how the sunlight never really permeates the trees.

 

[Hikikomori1]

Sometimes you will hear a tree branch cracking or falling as many of the trees are unstable or downed completely with branches snapping apart. I never heard a peep from any animals and only saw a pair of two other people during my walk who kept to themselves. I don't think any wildlife lives there. Not even birds or large insects.

Not true.

There actually is wildlife in aokigahara you just do not see it that much.

Some of the animals are Asian black bear, small Japanese mole, bats, mice, deer, fox, boar, wild rabbit, Japanese mink and Japanese squirrel.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

Not true.

There actually is wildlife in aokigahara you just do not see it that much.

Some of the animals are Asian black bear, small Japanese mole, bats, mice, deer, fox, boar, wild rabbit, Japanese mink and Japanese squirrel.

Interesting, I wonder if they avoid the areas where humans usually go or only come out at night? I saw many foxes in the cities and countryside of Japan wandering around at night so it was strange not to see a single creature in the several hours I spent sitting in the forest.

I didn't post the photos but I took a lot of pictures of mushrooms and plants and it was so interesting to not see a single insect the entire time I was looking at all the plants. Especially if you stay in Japan for awhile and get used to hearing cicadas all the time, it was so unique to be somewhere that I didn't see a single ant, cicada, beetle, etc.

 

[Hikikomori1]

Interesting, I wonder if they avoid the areas where humans usually go or only come out at night?

Most of them probably only come out at night.

Also this guy saw a snake.

 

[Hikikomori1]

Interesting, I wonder if they avoid the areas where humans usually go or only come out at night? I saw many foxes in the cities and countryside of Japan wandering around at night so it was strange not to see a single creature in the several hours I spent sitting in the forest.

I didn't post the photos but I took a lot of pictures of mushrooms and plants and it was so interesting to not see a single insect the entire time I was looking at all the plants. Especially if you stay in Japan for awhile and get used to hearing cicadas all the time, it was so unique to be somewhere that I didn't see a single ant, cicada, beetle, etc.

This one too.

 

[DarknessAndDespair]

I lived for some years in Japan and without a car is difficult to get to that forest. Japan's society is all about appearances. I'm glad I left. Life is shit everywhere but there is 10 times worse. I had many Japanese friends attempting suicide and failing. Then the shaming from relatives was surreal. There's nothing such as mental health there or anywhere to speak. If anyone reads here Japanese and want to interact in forums about these topics, I recommend Mixi.

 

[Hikikomori1]

I lived for some years in Japan and without a car is difficult to get to that forest.

I thought you could just take the bus.

 

[not-2-b-the-answer]

I thought you could just take the bus.

Yet another bus I can't catch.
Seriously though.... I would love to CTB there. Looks so peaceful.

 

[Hikikomori1]

Seriously though.... I would love to CTB there. Looks so peaceful.

Me too.