Aokigahara Jukai, Dark and Macabre Places
Aokigahara Jukai, Suicide Forest, Japan Aokigahara Jukai, Sea of Trees is a 35km square forest that lies on the north-west base of Mt Fuji in Japan. The forest floor is made up of very hard volcanic rock which anchors the thousands of trees securely to the ground. It is a popular tourist destination for its rocky, icy caverns naturally formed over the millennia. Aokigahara is also popular with those who aim to enter the forest with no intention of ever returning. The density of the trees, and the relative lack of wildlife, gives the forest an eerily quiet yet peaceful presence. Unfortunately, those walking amongst the trees in the serenity more often than not have the peace shattered as they stumble across a body. Aokigahara is also known as 'The Suicide Forest'. For decades, dozens of bodies each year have been recovered from the forest. Prior to 1988 an average of 30 suicides took place within the forest each year. In 1998 the number had risen to 74 and since the ...