Aokigahara Forest

The Aokigahara forest aka the "Suicide Forest," in Fujikawaguchiko, is at the base of Mt. Fuji. It is called the Suicide Forest because of the hundreds of people that go there to commit suicide every year.

Since hearing about this I've wanted to go. Not for suicidal reasons but reasons of pure curiosity. The stories of myth and legend that all come from this forest are fascinating. The soil there is magnetic so phone, gps, and compasses don't work so if you get lost, you are at great risk of never coming out. The geography of the forest is consistent of any place where a volcano erupted and left lava rock everywhere. However, it is special here because of the thousands of caves that lie hidden under roots and groundcover in these forests. There is little wild life and it is really quite a creepy place. So of course I would want to go, right? At first I was the only one that was going to go until I convinced a couple others to go with me. In which case we were all excited considering it would be free with our Japan Railway passes. Upon arrival you could tell it was eerie from outside but when you enter it is really quite beautiful. I think the perfect word to describe the forest would be serenity. Since I was with others it was not scary at all. There was one moment where I was alone, taking pictures, and my sense became very very sensitive to everything around. The pitter patter of bugs or whatever creatures were so loud it sounded like footsteps. So I guess the stories got to me after all. But it was worth it to go, and I would recommend anyone considering it to go as well!