Visit Aokigahara to be immersed in an indescribably quiet, sometimes eerie forest defined by local ghost stories. The noticeable dense woodland lies at the base of Mount Fuji and is known locally as Jukai or Sea of Trees. Across 12 square miles (31 square kilometers) of hardened lava, visitors may explore the haunted forest and enter its two most famous caves, the Narusawa Ice Cave and the Fugaku Wind Cave.
Aokigahara is soberly known as the number-one suicide spot for Japanese. Learn the legend of the forest as a destination for Japanese who once practiced ubasute, the act of taking elderly or sick relatives to a remote region and leaving them there to die. Literary culture popularized the area as the “Suicide Forest” with the publication of the 1960s novel Tower of Waves, about a love-torn heroine who chooses to take her own life here. Some Japanese believe the forest is haunted by Yūrei, ghosts who died in a violent manner and were not able to pass to the afterlife.
It’s easy to get lost in Aokigahara, with its landscape of trees, small caves, moss-covered roots and rocks that look identical in every direction you turn. The silence is astounding and the darkness so noticeable that even at noon there is hardly a bright spot. The volcanic soil has such a high iron content that GPS and cell phone signals are not reliable for showing the way. If you’re hiking here, stay on the trails at all times.
Despite its macabre legends, appreciate Aokigahara’s natural beauty and its renowned caves. The Narasawu Ice Cave is permanently frozen and the Fugaku Wind Cave is famous for its silkworm egg and seed stores. Visit these striking caves and enjoy fantastic Mount Fuji views on clear days to feel a sense of peacefulness, not spookiness, in the dense, silent Aokigahara forest.
Drive to Aokigahara in 2 hours from Tokyo. It is also accessible via train. Travel on the FujikyukoLine to the Kawaguchiko train station, then take a taxi. Find the entrance at the parking lot of the Lake Sai Bat Cave.
