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Aokigahara (), also known as the Jukai, is a forest on the northwestern flank of the Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu in Japan, thriving on of Igneous rock laid down by the last major eruption of Mount Fuji in 864 CE. The western edge of Aokigahara, where there are several caves that fill with ice in winter, is a popular destination for tourists and school trips. Parts of Aokigahara are very dense, and the porous lava rock absorbs sound, contributing to a sense of solitude that some visitors attribute to the forest.
The forest has a historical reputation as a home to yūrei: Ghost of the dead in Japanese mythology. At least since the 1960s, Aokigahara has become associated with suicide, eventually becoming known in English by the nickname " Suicide Forest" and gaining a reputation as one of the world's most-used suicide sites. Because of this, signs at the Trail head urge suicidal visitors to think of their families and contact a suicide prevention association.
Aokigahara has been portrayed as a place where navigational compasses go haywire. Needles of magnetic compasses will sometimes point away from north if placed directly on the lava, aligning with the rock's natural magnetism, which varies in iron content and strength by location. However, the compass behaves as expected when held at a normal height. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has conducted its Ranger Courses including navigation training in the forest since 1956.
Herpetology in the region includes the black-spotted frog ( Pelophylax nigromaculatus), Japanese five-lined skink ( Plestiodon finitimus), Japanese forest ratsnake ( Euprepiophis conspicillata), tiger keelback ( Rhabdophis tigrinus) and the montane brown frog ( Rana ornativentris).
Invertebrate include Ground beetle and other Insect, including many species of Lepidoptera (even within the forest's interior), such as the silver-washed fritillary ( Argynnis paphia), Chrysozephyrus smaragdinus, the holly blue ( Holly blue), C. sugitanii, Curetis acuta, Favonius taxila, Neptis sappho, Parantica sita and Polygonia c-album are found.
The forest is composed of a variety of Conifer and broad-leaved trees and Shrub, including Chamaecyparis obtusa, Cryptomeria japonica, Pinus densiflora and Pinus parviflora, Tsuga sieboldii, Maple (including Acer distylum, Acer micranthum, A. sieboldianum and Acer tschonoskii), Betula grossa, Chengiopanax sciadophylloides (or Eleutherococcus or Eleutherococcus), Clethra barbinervis, Enkianthus campanulatus, Euonymus macropterus, Ilex pedunculosa, Ilex macropoda, Pieris japonica, Prunus jamasakura, Quercus mongolica var. crispula, Rhododendron dilatatum, Skimmia japonica f. repens, Sorbus commixta (or Sorbus americana ssp. japonica) and Toxicodendron trichocarpum (or Rhus trichocarpa). The dominant tree species between 1,000 and 1,800 metres of altitude is Tsuga diversifolia and from 1,800 to 2,200 metres is Abies veitchii.
Deeper in the forest, there are many Herbaceous plant and Flowering plant, including Artemisia princeps, Cirsium var. incomptum, Corydalis incisa, Erigeron annuus, Geranium, Kalimeris pinnatifida, Maianthemum dilatatum, Oplismenus undulatifolius and Reynoutria japonica (syn. Polygonum cuspidatum). There are also the myco-heterotrophic Monotropastrum humile, numerous liverworts, and many . Additionally, the forests are outlined with many small Annual plant and perennial species that self-sow along the sunnier fringes, along with young sprouts of the larger trees and shrubs.
The rate of suicide has led officials to place a sign at the forest's entry urging suicidal visitors to seek help and not take their own lives. Annual body searches have been conducted by police, volunteers, and journalists since 1970.
The site's popularity has been attributed to Seichō Matsumoto's 1961 novel Nami no Tō ( Tower of Waves). "Inside Japan's 'Suicide Forest ( The Japan Times, 26 June 2011) (2026). 9784167697235, Bungeishunjū. ISBN 9784167697235 However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara predates the novel's publication, and the place has long been associated with death; ubasute may have been practiced there into the nineteenth century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the yūrei of those left to die.
In late 2017, popular American YouTuber Logan Paul, who had earned over 15 million subscribers to his channel by 1 January 2018, uploaded a video in which he and several companions visited Aokigahara in order to document and explore the forest's supposed "creepy" qualities. While filming, the group discovered several personal items, including discarded sleeping bags and clothing, as well as what appeared to be disused campsites. They then unexpectedly came upon the body of a suicide victim, to which Paul exclaimed "I think there's someone hanging right there!", with him and his group subsequently approaching the corpse and filming it (blurring the face of the person, whose identity is a mystery); this video was then uploaded directly to Paul's channel, . One member of the group could be heard saying they did not "feel good" as they viewed the corpse, to which Paul asked, jokingly, if this person had "never stood near a dead guy before". After receiving swift backlash, and even some praise for "raising suicide awareness", Paul stated that he was "misguided by shock and awe"; after removing the video, and filming a subsequent apology, Paul said that he "should have never posted the video" and "should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through…I'm ashamed of myself…I'm disappointed in myself."
Aokigahara was the subject of a BBC Radio 4 production, broadcast 10 September 2018, in which four Poet traveled to the region to write and record poetry. The poets Arai Takako, Jordan A. Y. Smith, Osaki Sayaka, and Yotsumoto Yasuhiro co-authored a bilingual (Japanese/English) anthology of the poems and short writings on Aokigahara, titled Sea of Trees: Poetic Gateways to Aokigahara (ToPoJo Excursions, 2019).
American playwright Kristine Haruna Lee wrote and staged a play, Suicide Forest, in March 2019. It addressed suicide in the United States and in Japan, and references Aokigahara.
Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard were originally named "Sea Of Trees" after Aokigahara. Although the name did not stick, the group would release a song with the same name on their debut album 12 Bar Bruise (2012).
American R&B singer Jhené Aiko included a song called "Jukai" as the second track on her 2017 album Trip, using the forest as reference for an exploration of suicide and rebirth.
Aokigahara is also the name of Mai Shiranui's stage in Fatal Fury 2, consisting of a raft next to the forest. An updated version of the stage was included in a teaser trailer for her guest appearance in Street Fighter 6.
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