AOKIGAHARA
MOUNT FUJI
JAPAN.
MOUNT FUJI
JAPAN.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
Aokigahara Forest, also known as the sea of trees is a tranquil place , a beautiful but dense forest that lies in the shadow of the majestic Mount Fuji .. and yet it is a place with a sad connotation. It is the second most popular place to commit suicide (The Golden gate bridge in the US being the first).
Locals often say that they can tell the three types of people who go into the forest quite easily... the one`s who`ve come to study the forest and the mountain, the one`s who are intrigued by the ghoulish nature of the location...and the ones who have no intention of leaving the forest.
Ever since a novel in the 1950 depicted two people taking their lives in Aokigahara Forest, the numbers of people taking their own lives there has steadily increased - and there is a spike in numbers towards the end of the financial year. (which is in March in Japan)
There is an absence of wildlife and the forest heavy deposits of iron in the volcanic soil makes compasses useless - makes for a very eerie stay overnight .. which a lot of people contemplating death often do .. sometimes they go back home .... and sometimes all that is left of them is the tent...
It is a little hard to swallow the knowledge that there are some people who go into the forest... only to rob corpses. But there are so many, that the Yakuza pay people to do this. Nice.
We follow the Forest ranger for the forest. Even though his main job would be just to care for the forest, he also looks out for the people he finds whithin them. He has found countless dead bodies over the years .. and you will find some of the images (they are brief) .... unnerving.
An absolute gem of a Documentary from VICE.
Aokigahara Suicide Forest from Jim Demuth on Vimeo.
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