Random Haunting Facts About Japan's Suicide Forest (15 items)

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  (#5) Aokigahara Has More Than Trees

  While it's famous for its impenetrable canopy of trees, Aokigahara also has a number of astounding natural features. The most prominent are its deep, icy caverns, such as Narusawa Ice Cave, and Wind Cave. Hikers can go deep underground and encounter sheets, columns, and pillars of ice - all hovering at freezing temperatures.
  
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  (#14) Aokigahara Scavenging Is a Thing

  Buoyed by the presence of dozens of corpses, scavengers have begun to set upon the forest to look for dropped valuables, left behind by people who killed themselves. Even worse, they'd often loot the corpses before the forest workers had a chance to find them. Talk about something that will make the yurei angry...
  
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  (#7) Nobody Knows How Many Suicides Have Taken Place There

  Like the Golden Gate Bridge, Japanese authorities don't publish the exact numbers of suicides that take place in Aokigahara, in order to stop it from becoming even more popular. But unlike Golden Gate Bridge, and other popular suicide sites, the true number isn't actually known by anyone.

  While forest workers find about 70 corpses every year, it's thought that many others are simply gone, swallowed up by the thick vegetation on the ground.
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  (#6) It's the Place With The Second Most Suicides in the World

  While Aokighara is known for its trees and ice caves, it's infamous for its suicides. It's estimated that this forest is the site for more people taking their own lives than anywhere else, second only to the Golden Gate Bridge. Estimates of how many people have killed themselves there vary, but it's likely to be at least 500, and quite likely many more.
  
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  (#13) Anti-Suicide Signs Are Everywhere

  Japanese authorities know of the forest's reputation for suicides, but can do little about it. Aokigahara is open to the public and would be impossible to close off. What they have done is put up numerous signs around the forest discouraging wouldbe suicides. The signs have encouraging messages like “Your life is a precious gift from your parents,” "Think of your family!" and “Please consult with the police before you decide to die."
  
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  (#1) The Forest Is In the Shadow of Mount Fuji

  Located at the base of Mount Fuli, Aokigahara is a thick canopy of trees, with a hard floor made of compressed volcanic rock. The soil is so thick and packed together that it's virtually impossible to dig into. Combine featureless ground with thickly packed leaves, and hikers easily lose their way.

  Not only that, but iron deposits in the volcanic soil render GPS and cell phones useless. It's extremely easy to get lost in the "Sea of Trees."

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