The beautiful forest pictured above is Aokigahara, also known as the Sea of Trees. It is an 8500 acre forest that lies at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan.
Over the years, Aokigahara has become a popular place for both tourism and human suicide. In fact, it is the second most popular suicide location in the world, led only by San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
The majority of the victims end their lives by hanging themselves. Numerous signs have been posted in the forest urging people to reconsider their actions. Due to the wind-blocking density of the trees, and an absence of wildlife, the forest is known for being eerily quiet, except for the occasional wail of wind, or perhaps, the a wail from something unknown.
Since the 1950s, more than 500 people have lost their lives in the forest, most of them suicides. In 2002, 78 dead bodies were found in Aokigahara; in 2003, the rate climbed to 100 people, and in recent years the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara's association with suicide.
The number of suicides in Aokigahara is often times attributed to the 1960 novel Kuroi Jukai by SeichÅ Matsumoto, which ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest. However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara dates from well before the novel's publication, and the place has long been associated with death.
The forest also has a historic association with demons in Japanese mythology and is said to be haunted.
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