Aokigahara forest is at the foot of the sacred volcanic mountain Fuji in Japan and makes each and every “frightening movie forest” look like a forest of a child’s drawing. Why is that? That’s because of the dead bodies scattered in it! When you hear the word “romance”, Venice or Paris are the first things that come in mind. The exact same principle goes for the word “suicides” and Aokigahara. Now, how many suicides does it take to make such a name for it…? Fifty? A hundred? A hundred and fifty? It actually took much more than that! More than 500 people have decided to put their lives to an end there since 1950.
This entire ruckus began with the author Seicho Matsumoto. In his book, Kuroi Kaiju (the Black Sea of Trees), two of the characters took the decision to commit suicide in the “perfect place to die”. That place was of course Aokigahara. Since then hundreds of Japanese have left their last breath among the countless trees of the forest. The group suicides have forced the local authorities to post warning signs at the entrances of the forest like “Please it think twice!” Or “Please consult the police before you die”!
By Nikos K
Aokigahara photo: keiokaiser
