Latest / The Grim: Haunted Cemeteries & Graveyard Tales / The Forest of Sorrow | Aokigahara, Japan

Transcript

The Forest of Sorrow | Aokigahara, Japan · The Grim: Haunted Cemeteries & Graveyard Tales

• 0:13
  Kristin: Grim morning and welcome to the Grim.
• 0:16
  Kristin: I'm your host, Kristen.
• 0:18
  Kristin: On today's episode, we'll be opening the gate and entering the Oki Gahara Forest, located in Japan.
• 0:24
  Kristin: The aroma of coffee mingles in the air.
• 0:28
  Kristin: The gates stand open.
• 0:29
  Kristin: Step carefully.
• 0:31
  Kristin: It's starting to descend into the hauntings of history.
• 0:34
  Kristin: While we're not opening a gate into an official burial ground this week, we're stepping into something far larger: suicide.
• 0:41
  Kristin: These past few months, arguably the hardest in the northern hemisphere, arrive with less sunlight, fewer gatherings, and a cold that lingers long after it should.
• 0:51
  Kristin: The holidays fade, the warmth disappears, and for so many, so does the sense of stability.
• 0:57
  Kristin: Fiscal years close, job losses rise, and the world feels caught in an endless cycle of unfolding events, each one heavier than the last.
• 1:06
  Kristin: It becomes a quiet accumulation of pressure, stress layered upon stress, and for some that path forward begins to disappear entirely.
• 1:14
  Kristin: On a podcast centered around death, it might seem unexpected to pause here, but for the grim it's never truly been about death alone.
• 1:22
  Kristin: It's about life, its weight, its beauty, its fragility, and the legacy it leaves behind.
• 1:28
  Kristin: We tell stories of dark history and of lives fully lived with names that refuse to be forgotten, because beneath every headstone is not just an ending, but proof that a life, no matter how brief or burdened, holds meaning, and every life is still worth living fully.
• 1:45
  Kristin: Before we go any further, I want to take a moment to reach out to anyone listening who may be struggling right now.
• 1:51
  Kristin: Please know you're not alone.
• 1:54
  Kristin: There's help, there's love, and there is still a way forward even if you can't see it yet.
• 1:59
  Kristin: If you're in the United States, you can call or text 988-The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat via 988-lifeline.org.
• 2:09
  Kristin: It's free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
• 2:13
  Kristin: If you're listening from elsewhere, I encourage you to reach out to your local crisis outline or a trusted person in your life.
• 2:19
  Kristin: Speaking to someone, anyone, can be the first step forward to finding solid ground again.
• 2:24
  Kristin: You don't have to carry this alone.
• 2:27
  Kristin: Many entering the Okikahara forest feel this weight.
• 2:30
  Kristin: In a place surrounded by nature, you'd think peace would bring them hope.
• 2:34
  Kristin: Yet with its unique circumstances and history, it's a natural burial ground that mourns lost souls back into ancient times.
• 2:42
  Kristin: Its name, Okiohara, also known as Okikahara Jukai, means the sea of trees.
• 2:48
  Kristin: It stretches along the base of Mount Fuji, roughly two hours west of Tokyo by car.
• 2:53
  Kristin: Beautiful, dense, and overflowing with light.
• 2:56
  Kristin: It's a natural gem in a country so often defined by neon light, constant motion, and the hum of technology.
• 3:03
  Kristin: And yet Okikohara is the opposite of it all.
• 3:06
  Kristin: There is no hum, only stillness.
• 3:09
  Kristin: The forest is made up of tightly packed trees, their roots twisting across the surface like veins beneath the earth.
• 3:16
  Kristin: Moss blankets the ground, softening the jagged remains of what lies beneath.
• 3:20
  Kristin: Nearly a thousand years ago, volcanic eruptions from Mount Fuji form the land this forest now claims.
• 3:27
  Kristin: Beneath every step is hardened lava, unyielding and impenetrable.
• 3:31
  Kristin: The trees can't grow deep here, so instead they spread outward, their roots not entangle across the florist floor, creating an uneven, almost fragile terrain.
• 3:41
  Kristin: And yet despite this shallow grip, the trees thrive, fed by mineral-rich volcanic soil, rising into a dense canopy that filters and dims the sunlight from above.
• 3:51
  Kristin: What little light remains drifts down in fragments, enough to see, never enough to feel open though.
• 3:57
  Kristin: Okikahara covers roughly 13.5 square miles in Japan's Yamanashi Prefect, just northwest of Mount Fuji and less than 100 miles from Tokyo, but distance feels irrelevant once inside, because the forest is something unusual.
• 4:13
  Kristin: It absorbs sound.
• 4:14
  Kristin: The density of the trees blocks the wind, air barely moves, wildlife is sparse.
• 4:20
  Kristin: Visitors often describe an unsettling quiet, no rustling of leaves, no distinct calls, no steady rhythm of insects, just an absence, a silence that feels almost intentional, and even direction begins to fail here.
• 4:34
  Kristin: The iron rich volcanic rock beneath the forest interferes with compasses and weakens cell signals.
• 4:40
  Kristin: Paths disappear easily, landmarks repeat themselves, and it becomes frighteningly simple to simply lose your way.
• 4:48
  Kristin: To counter this, visitors and search teams sometimes mark their roots with ribbons or tape, threading an invisible path through the trees to ensure they can find their way back out, and still people come, drawn by its beauty, its stillness, its strangeness, and by the caves hidden within it, including two of the most well-known, the Narusawa Ice Cave and the Fugaku Wind Cave.
• 5:11
  Kristin: But the forest unnatural stillness and its association with death and the supernatural have also made it a place where some people choose to end their lives.
• 5:19
  Kristin: Those who have changed their minds or have been rescued often say they were drawn to Okikohara because they believed they could die without being found.
• 5:27
  Kristin: Others who didn't survive have sometimes been discovered with books about the suicide forest among their final belongings.
• 5:34
  Kristin: In contemporary times, the connection between Okikohara and suicide was strengthened by literature.
• 5:39
  Kristin: In 1960, Sechumasumoto's novel, Kuru Jukai, featured a character who walks into the forest to end her life after a romantic breakup, cementing the forest's association with death.
• 5:52
  Kristin: Later Wataru Surumi's 1993 book, The Complete Manual of Suicide, listed Okikohara as a good place to die, further reinforcing its reputation.
• 6:04
  Kristin: More recently, the forest became the setting for the 2016 American horror film The Forest.
• 6:10
  Kristin: Japan has historically had a higher suicide rate than many other countries.
• 6:15
  Kristin: This is partly due to cultural factors, including the absence of a strong stigma surrounding suicide.
• 6:21
  Kristin: During the feudal era, warriors practice sepuku, ritual disembowent, to avoid capture.
• 6:27
  Kristin: Though the practice is no longer observed, suicide continues to be seen by some as a socially acceptable response to extreme personal, financial, or family hardships.
• 6:38
  Kristin: The forest is also linked to an ancient though rare practice known as abusute.
• 6:42
  Kristin: In times of famine or extreme scarcity, it's said that families would carry elderly relatives to remote areas and lead them to die of exposure or starvation.
• 6:52
  Kristin: While there's no direct evidence of tying Okikohara to this practice, some believe the spirits of those abandoned in such a way have become part of the forest itself, lingering among the trees and haunting its silent depths.
• 7:06
  Kristin: For many years, Okikohara has been second only to California's Golden Gate Bridge and the number of suicide attempts.
• 7:13
  Kristin: In 2003, the number of confirmed deaths in the forest prompted officials to stop publicly reporting figures to avoid encouraging copycat attempts.
• 7:23
  Kristin: That year, 105 suicides were confirmed, though the actual number may have been higher, as many bodies go undiscovered for months or even years, and some may never be found.
• 7:34
  Kristin: Between 2013 and 2015, more than 100 people who were not from the surrounding area came to Okikohara to end their lives, according to local government records.
• 7:45
  Kristin: Across Japan, suicides totaled roughly 24,000 in 2015 alone, a number that doesn't include attempts.
• 7:53
  Kristin: Experts have long sought to understand why some are drawn specifically to this forest.
• 7:58
  Kristin: Three decades ago, a Japanese psychiatrist who interviewed survivors suggests an essential reason.
• 8:04
  Kristin: Many believe they could die successfully here without being noticed.
• 8:08
  Kristin: Dr.
• 8:08
  Kristin: Yashitomi Takahashi also noted that films and media coverage may have played a role in shaping the forest's reputation.
• 8:16
  Kristin: Some travelers come from distant provinces.
• 8:19
  Kristin: Drawn by the idea of sharing the same place with others and belonging to the same group, he wrote, an anthropologist also found a similar pattern in online suicide forums in Japan.
• 8:30
  Kristin: For those seeking connection and fearing isolation, the internet offered a place to die with others.
• 8:35
  Kristin: Nakamura, a researcher familiar with the florist, points to a chilling parallel in the mindset surrounding Okikohara itself.
• 8:43
  Kristin: Many people have committed suicide at Okikohara, thus you won't die alone.
• 8:48
  Kristin: One man who attempted to end his life in Okikohara spoke about his experience in an interview conducted by CNN, published in 2018.
• 8:57
  Kristin: My will to live disappeared.
• 8:59
  Kristin: Taru, a middle-aged man who wished to remain mostly anonymous, told reporters, I lost my identity, so I didn't want to live on this earth.
• 9:08
  Kristin: That's why I went here.
• 9:09
  Kristin: Taro purchased a one-way ticket to the forest after losing his job at an iron manufacturing company.
• 9:15
  Kristin: With no financial stability, no clear path forward, he felt he had nowhere else to go.
• 9:20
  Kristin: You need money to survive, he said.
• 9:23
  Kristin: Once in the forest, he injured his wrist.
• 9:25
  Kristin: The injuries were not immediately fatal, but he collapsed, weakened by dehydration, starvation, and frostbite.
• 9:32
  Kristin: He might have not survived had it not been for a hiker who found him in time.
• 9:37
  Kristin: Taro's story is sadly a version of many that continues to occur today.
• 9:41
  Kristin: Hikers, volunteers, or even other visitors find others within, many hoping to help.
• 9:48
  Kristin: Over the years, authorities have attempted to curb suicides in Okikohara and across Japan.
• 9:53
  Kristin: Security cameras were installed at the forest's entrances to monitor those who enter.
• 9:58
  Kristin: Other measures include raising the height of bridge rails, training volunteers to speak with visitors in crisis, increase police patrols, and discourage media portrayals that glorify the forest as a place to die.
• 10:11
  Kristin: Especially in March at the end of the fiscal year, more suicidal people come here because of the bad economy.
• 10:16
  Kristin: A government official explained.
• 10:19
  Kristin: It's my dream to stop suicides in this forest.
• 10:21
  Kristin: But to be honest, it would be difficult to prevent all cases here.
• 10:25
  Kristin: Authorities have taken a range of steps to prevent further tragedies.
• 10:29
  Kristin: Signage of the forest entrances along common paths encourage visitors to reconsider and think of their families.
• 10:36
  Kristin: These signs also provide information on suicide and debt counseling, addressing financial stress, a common factor in suicide.
• 10:44
  Kristin: Volunteers regularly patrol the forest, searching for people who may be at risk, while local businesses are trained to recognize warning signs and intervene when possible.
• 10:54
  Kristin: By 2024, officials began experimenting with drones equipped with thermal imaging to detect people in the forest at night.
• 11:02
  Kristin: When someone is spotted, a second drone or an employee can communicate via speaker, encouraging the person to return home or seek help.
• 11:10
  Kristin: Suicide is an extremely complex phenomenon shaped by many factors.
• 11:14
  Kristin: Nakumura, a researcher familiar with the forest, explained.
• 11:18
  Kristin: Economic hardship in Japan plays a role, but so do cultural pressures.
• 11:22
  Kristin: Stigma around seeking mental health care, especially for men, and the long-standing tendency to view suicide as a rational decision also contribute.
• 11:31
  Kristin: One of the terms for suicide is jeketsu, meaning to decide for yourself, she added, highlighting the weight of personal agency in the cultural understanding of death.
• 11:41
  Kristin: In some parts of the world, religion strongly condemns suicide, but in Japan, the stance is far less rigid.
• 11:48
  Kristin: Suicide is not considered a mortal sin as it is under Christianity, Nakumara says, underscoring how cultural and religious context shapes how death is perceived.
• 11:58
  Kristin: Though the subject has long been taboo, the Japanese government has taken steps since the 2000s to study and prevent suicide, implementing programs aimed at lowering the national rate.
• 12:09
  Kristin: Experts emphasize that understanding these cultural differences is crucial for providing effective mental health care, both in Japan and for Japanese communities living abroad.
• 12:19
  Kristin: Despite these efforts, dozens of individuals from all walks of life continue to take their lives in Okikahara each year.
• 12:27
  Kristin: Visitors are urged to remain on marked paths, not only for their own safety, but to avoid crossing into moments that were never meant to be witnessed.
• 12:35
  Kristin: Beyond those trails, the forest changes.
• 12:38
  Kristin: What lies there is not for discovery and certainly not for display.
• 12:42
  Kristin: Volunteers walk those depths with quiet reverence, gathering the remnants of lives interrupted, while officials work to hold back a growing tide of those drawn not by understanding, but by curiosity.
• 12:54
  Kristin: In 2018, that boundary was broken in full view of the world, when a YouTube personality filmed the body of a suicide victim within the forest.
• 13:04
  Kristin: The backlash was immediate, the apology inevitable, but the damage in many ways was already done.
• 13:11
  Kristin: For the grim Okigahara is not a place to be mythologized or consumed.
• 13:16
  Kristin: It's not a backdrop for spectacle, nor a stage for the morbid imagination.
• 13:21
  Kristin: It's a place where grief has taken root in the soil itself, silent, unseen, and deeply human.
• 13:28
  Kristin: To tell its story is not to glorify what happens here, but to stand at its edge and recognize its weight, to understand that some places don't ask to be explored, only respected.
• 13:39
  Kristin: Because in Okigahara, the boundary between the living and the dead has never felt entirely intact.
• 13:45
  Kristin: In Japanese folklore, the presence within places like this is often explained through the Yurei, spirits unable to find rest.
• 13:53
  Kristin: Unlike Western ghosts, they're not fleeting shadows, but something heavier.
• 13:57
  Kristin: Anchored by grief, anger, love, jealousy, or regret.
• 14:01
  Kristin: When death comes suddenly or without resolution, the spirit doesn't leave, it lingers.
• 14:06
  Kristin: Okigahara, the sea of trees at the base of Mount Fuji, is said to be one such place where the Yurei gather.
• 14:13
  Kristin: The forest's dense canopy blocks sunlight.
• 14:16
  Kristin: The tangle of roots twists like veins beneath the earth.
• 14:19
  Kristin: And the silence is almost absolute.
• 14:22
  Kristin: Visitors often report a weight in the air, a sense of being watched, or the feeling that the forest itself remembers the lives that ended there.
• 14:30
  Kristin: These spirits are traditionally imagined dressed in white, the color of Japanese burial kimonos with long black hair falling loose, their hands dangle lifelessly, and many are said to float just above the ground.
• 14:43
  Kristin: Some urate, return to protect loved ones, while others are driven by anger or sorrow, unable to move on until their unfinished business is resolved.
• 14:53
  Kristin: In some cases, the lower the social status or the harsher the treatment in life, the stronger a spirit's presence may be, feeding the legend of restless, powerful ghosts lingering in the forest.
• 15:04
  Kristin: Okikohara is the place where death and the supernatural are said to meet.
• 15:08
  Kristin: Some believe the forest holds the spirits of those who came seeking it as a final refuge.
• 15:14
  Kristin: Its stillness, the moss-covered roots, and the tangled, twisted past that seem to amplify their presence.
• 15:20
  Kristin: To walk here is not just to move through a forest, it's a move through a space where human tragedy, memory, and unresolved emotion have become part of the landscape itself.
• 15:30
  Kristin: If you ever find yourself in Okikahara, heed the signs.
• 15:34
  Kristin: Stay on the marked paths, consider joining a guided tour, and you want to find your way out before night falls.
• 15:40
  Kristin: The forest quiet is profound, but the Yorai is said to be most active during the hour of the ox, a traditional Japanese time frame from roughly 1 a.m.
• 15:49
  Kristin: to 3 a.m., is when the veil between the living and the dead is believed to be at its thinnest.
• 15:54
  Kristin: But more than anything, this is not a place for spectacle.
• 15:57
  Kristin: It's not a destination for thrill seeking or curiosity alone.
• 16:01
  Kristin: Hogikahara stands as a quiet reminder of a very real human pain, of lives that carried burdens too heavy to bear.
• 16:09
  Kristin: To speak of it is not to romanticize what happens here, but to acknowledge it with care.
• 16:15
  Kristin: If this forest teaches anything, it's the weight of silence, and the importance of breaking it.
• 16:20
  Kristin: Behind every story is a person, and behind every person is a struggle when we never fully see.
• 16:27
  Kristin: Let this not be a place we glorify, but when we approach with empathy, awareness, and respect for the lives touched by it, and for those who are still walking their way through the dark.
• 16:37
  Kristin: And if you're listening and any part of this story feels close to you, closer than it should, please know you're not alone.
• 16:44
  Kristin: If you're in the United States, you can call or text 988-the Suicide in Crisis Resource or chat via 988-lifeline.org.
• 16:53
  Kristin: It's free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
• 16:57
  Kristin: If you're listening from elsewhere, I encourage you to reach out to your local crisis resource or trusted person in your life.
• 17:04
  Kristin: Speaking to someone, anyone, can be the first step toward finding solid ground again.
• 17:10
  Kristin: You don't have to carry this alone.
• 17:12
  Kristin: For now, the stories of Okigahara slip back into the trees, and the dead return to their uneasy rest.
• 17:18
  Kristin: Yet they're never silent for long.
• 17:20
  Kristin: Thank you for walking with us through the veil into Okigohara, descending once more into the hauntings of history.
• 17:27
  Kristin: The gate is sealed, the veil drawn, yet death keeps no calendar, and so we shall return, as we always do, on the grim.