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26-631: Lake Yamanaka is the largest of the Fuji Five Lakes in surface area and the highest in elevation. It is the third highest lake in Japan, with a mean surface altitude of 980.5 metres (3,217 ft). It is also the shallowest of the Fuji Five Lakes, with a maximum water depth of 13.5 metres (44 ft). It was formed by lava flows from an ancient eruption of Mount Fuji. It is drained by the Sagami River and

52-536: 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 ). 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

78-423: 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 remains of a person who had committed suicide, approaching the corpse and filming (blurring

104-469: Is Tsuga diversifolia and from 1,800 to 2,200 metres is Abies veitchii . Deeper in the forest, there are many herbaceous and flowering plants , including Artemisia princeps , Cirsium nipponicum var. incomptum , Corydalis incisa , Erigeron annuus , Geranium nepalense , Kalimeris pinnatifida , Maianthemum dilatatum , Oplismenus undulatifolius and Reynoutria japonica ( syn. Polygonum cuspidatum ). There are also

130-535: Is Aokigahara Jukai Forest . The Fuji Five Lakes was selected by the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun and Osaka Mainichi Shimbun as one of the Twenty-Five Winning Sites of Japan in 1927. The five lakes are located in an arc around the northern half of Mount Fuji . In ancient times, lava flow from a volcanic eruption of Mount Fuji spread across the area, damming up rivers and resulting in

156-466: Is a forest on the northwestern flank of Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu in Japan , thriving on 30 square kilometres (12 sq mi) of hardened lava 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

182-528: Is the name of the area located at the base of Mount Fuji in the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan . It has a population of about 100,000 and sits about 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) above sea level. The five lakes created in the area by previous eruptions of Mount Fuji has given the area its name. The principal city in the region, Fujiyoshida , has a population of roughly 54,000 and is particularly famous for its udon noodles . Another point of interest

208-447: Is the only of the Fuji Five Lakes to have a natural outflow. Carp , dace and smelt were introduced to the lake in the Meiji period , although early efforts to introduce sockeye salmon were not successful. In more recent years, introduced exotics such as black bass and bluegill have increasingly displaced native species. In terms of plant life, a variety of marimo was discovered in

234-859: The World Heritage List as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site. Early in the morning, when traffic is light on the Tōmei and Chūō Expressways , traveling between Tokyo and Lake Yamanaka takes an hour. The traffic becomes heavy later in the day, and the trip takes correspondingly longer. Japan National Route 138 and Japan National Route 413 run along the shores of the lake. Bus services are available from Fujisan Station ( Fujikyuko Line ), JR Gotemba Station (JR Gotemba Line ), and JR Mishima Station (JR Shinkansen ). Highway bus services are also available from Shinjuku Station ( Tokyo ). Fuji Five Lakes Fuji Five Lakes ( 富士五湖 , Fuji-goko )

260-415: The myco-heterotrophic Monotropastrum humile , numerous liverworts , mosses and many ferns . Additionally, the forests are outlined with many small annual and perennial species that self-sow along the sunnier fringes, along with young sprouts of the larger trees and shrubs. Aokigahara is sometimes referred to as the most popular site for suicide in Japan . In 2003, 105 bodies were found in

286-453: The oriental turtle dove . Herpetofauna 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 ). Invertebrates include ground beetles and other insects , including many species of lepidopterans (even within

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312-462: The area comes from the tourism industry . Approximately 100,000,000,000 yen is spent by 9,000,000 sightseers every year. The main attractions of the area include: 35°24′57″N 138°52′16″E  /  35.41583°N 138.87111°E  / 35.41583; 138.87111 Aokigahara Aokigahara ( 青木ヶ原 , 'Blue Tree Meadow'), also known as the Sea of Trees ( 樹海 , Jukai ) ,

338-459: The face of the person, whose identity is a mystery); this video was then uploaded directly to Paul's channel, shocking many and receiving widespread condemnation . 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

364-900: The forest since 1956. Aokigahara maintains a thriving temperate ecosystem , with numerous native plants and animals. Mammals include the Asiatic black bear , Dsinezumi shrew , small Japanese mole , greater horseshoe , greater tube-nosed and eastern long-fingered bats , mice and brown rats , Honshū sika deer , red fox , masked palm civet , wild boar , Japanese badger , dormouse , dwarf flying squirrel , hare , macaque , marten , mink , raccoon dog , serow , shrewmole , squirrel and weasel . Birds include great , willow and long-tailed tits , great spotted and Japanese pygmy woodpeckers , bush-warbler , Eurasian jay , warbling white-eye , Japanese , brown-headed and Siberian thrushes , Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo , Japanese grosbeak , lesser and common cuckoos , black-faced bunting and

390-1201: The forest's interior), such as the silver-washed fritillary ( Argynnis paphia ), Chrysozephyrus smaragdinus , the holly blue ( Celastrina argiolus ), C. sugitanii , Curetis acuta , Favonius jezoensis , Neptis sappho , Parantica sita and Polygonia c-album are found. The forest is composed of a variety of conifers and broad-leaved trees and shrubs , including Chamaecyparis obtusa , Cryptomeria japonica , Pinus densiflora and P. parviflora , Tsuga sieboldii , Japanese maples (including Acer distylum , A. micranthum , A. sieboldianum and A. tschonoskii ), Betula grossa , Chengiopanax sciadophylloides (or Acanthopanax sciadophylloides or Eleutherococcus ), Clethra barbinervis , Enkianthus campanulatus , Euonymus macropterus , Ilex pedunculosa , I. 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

416-491: The forest, exceeding the previous record of 78 in 2002. In 2010, the police recorded 54 confirmed suicides out of more than 200 attempts . Suicides are said to increase during March, the end of the fiscal year in Japan. As of 2011, the most common means of suicide in the forest were hanging or drug overdose . Local officials have stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to decrease Aokigahara's association with suicide. The rate of suicide has led officials to place

442-500: The formation of these lakes. They are all considered excellent tourist attractions and fishing spots. Lake Kawaguchi (河口湖 Kawaguchi-ko) is the most famous of the five lakes, and images of this lake are usually used in posters and commercials for the Fuji Five Lakes area. A large number of hotels line its banks, as do locals providing boat rides to the tourists. It is the only lake in the Fuji Five Lakes area that has an island. Many local cultural events are held near this lake throughout

468-479: The ice cave being frozen year-round. Aokigahara has been falsely portrayed as a place where navigational compasses go haywire. Needles of magnetic compasses will move if placed directly on the lava, aligning with the rock's natural magnetism, which varies in iron content and strength by location. However, a 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

494-409: The infamous Aokigahara Jukai Forest . Lake Shōji (精進湖 Shōji-ko) is the smallest of the five lakes. Remnants of lava flow still jut out of the water. Locals usually fish from these rocks. The easternmost and largest of the five lakes, Lake Yamanaka (山中湖 Yamanaka-ko) is also the third highest lake in Japan, standing at 980 meters (3,220 ft) above sea level. Most of the capital coming into

520-410: The lake in 1956. The lake is a popular recreational site for boating, fishing, water-skiing, windsurfing , sightseeing and swimming. If the wind comes from the west, the lake provides a smooth lift for paragliding at Mount Myōjinyama . There are also small cabins and sites available for camping. The lake is within the borders of the ( Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park ). In 2013 the lake was added to

546-591: The nineteenth century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the yūrei of those left to die. Aokigahara has been referred to in numerous forms of entertainment and documentary media, including anime and manga , films , literature , music lyrics and video games ; a drama - mystery film, The Sea of Trees (2015), takes place in the forest, as does American screenwriter Jason Zada 's horror film The Forest (2016). In late 2017, popular American YouTuber Logan Paul , who had earned over 15 million subscribers to his channel by 1 January 2018, uploaded

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572-509: 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 : ghosts 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

598-475: 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

624-484: The world's most-used suicide sites . Because of this, signs at the head of some trails urge suicidal visitors to think of their families and contact a suicide prevention association. The forest floor mostly consists of volcanic rock . Designated trails lead to several tourist attractions such as the Narusawa Ice Cave , Fugaku Wind Cave and Lake Sai Bat Cave which are three larger lava caves near Mount Fuji,

650-417: The year. Lake Motosu (本栖湖 Motosu-ko) is the ninth deepest lake of Japan, at 140 meters (460 ft). This lake, along with Lake Sai and Lake Shōji, was formed by lava flowing across what is now Aokigahara Jukai Forest and into the enormous lake that once dominated the area, and these three lakes remain still connected by underground waterways. The western side of Sai (西湖 Sai-ko) shares its banks with

676-410: 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 poets traveled to

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