Aokigahara Suicide Forest


Todays post isn't very funny, but its very interesting. The Aokigahara Forest is one of the most popular suicide destinations in the world. Up to 100 people flock to the forest to commit suicide every year. This is a twenty minute documentary on the subject by Vice Magazine TV.

36 comments:

  1. i heard a movie was filmed there and the director said he found a dead persons wallet so people now go looking for money from the dead corpses!!!

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  2. This was pretty informative to how unaccepted some people feel...thanks for the upload..

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  3. And i just watched "Departures"... morbid japanese evening

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  4. I would think they died in that forest just to see something beautiful before they died. I mean, would you want a 300+ pound obese, sweaty woman jogging in tight clothing as the last thing you'll ever see?

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  5. Pretty powerful stuff. He's so right. No person is alone. Everyone has connections and people who would miss them. Makes you think about who would miss you if you died.

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  6. Esse lugar é uma lenda por ter muitas mortes com o motivo em comum nesse lugar, era um video muito longo e eu não quis ver por inteiro, mas ainda assim é bem interessante

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  7. I think the reason they go there to die is it became somewhat of a trend, so to speak. They all do the same thing and some even go there unsure if they actually want to die, but they still go there. It's almost ritualistic.

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  8. the yellow tent statement at the end really hit hard.same with the young clothes on the skeleton. going out young and not as a form of attention.
    wow.

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  9. Aww they nail Jack to a tree. Thi was quite sad and interesting. <=//(

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  10. It is just sad that anyone should feel so alone that they want to die. No one is alone in this world.

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  11. wow ok... that's something else.

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  12. Being married to a wildlife biologist, all I could think of watching this, is "Where are the animals?" That seems one VERY empty forest. Usually if you have a body in a forest animals and/or birds arrive within hours to scavenge . It is very unusual to find a whole skeleton that is not disturbed and disarticulated.

    Also, instead of sending in one elderly man, why not do a regular patrol with a corpse-finding dog?

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  13. Actualy, aokigahara is notable for having almost no wildlife. The whole forest has grown on a solidified lava flow and the whole thing is isolated in the middle of mountains.

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  14. I just don't see the legitimacy of the things found in this video. It looks as if it could all be staged. There is far too much editing to believe all of it.

    For example, the noose that he found and had claimed that since they found the body, they cut the rope. Wouldn't the loop still be around the individual's neck and not on the forest floor?

    I believe in the amount of suicide that takes place in this forest and in Japan as a whole, but this video seems a little fishy.

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  15. Theres a place like this in the u.s too, its called Seattle

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  16. Staged? why would they joke about something like this ?

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  17. This was really interesting to see, as I'd only had a little knowledge about this to begin with.
    My Japanese teacher has told us that people go into the forest to find the deceased belongings, because many people take all their money, a cellphone, things that were important with them, in to the forest to die with them.

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  18. To anyone that doubt the credibility of the video, just Google "Aokigahara" and enjoy the amount of documents and gore pictures.

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  19. Whoever wants to see more pictures and videos:

    http://rumbur.ru/rubrics/places/891/
    http://robgilhooly.photoshelter.com/gallery/G0000eP30ZLwe740
    http://funzu.com/index.php/crazy-pics/aokigahara-forest-of-suicides-29102009.html
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/al-kaiser/sets/72157624212771078/with/4673267857/
    http://usagiyjay.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/bosque-de-aokigahara/
    http://www.lacasadelterror.com/imgs/img_articulos/1174311787_61.jpg

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  20. The noose would have been removed from the corpse if it still appeared to be fresh. The people that found it could have removed it in order to attempt to revive the person. there is no other indications this video is fake.

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  21. it's really sad that suicide is romanticised in japanese society, sometimes i think it pushes people who could otherwise be saved over the edge.

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  22. Anyone else finding his voice very soothing?

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  23. I might be slightly staged. But It still has a strong message to it.

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  24. it certainly isnt staged, how could you think that? – i shot and edited this film and i can assure you, that yes, hours of walking through the forest was cut out (would have been very boring otherwise), but everything else happened in exactly this way.

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  25. This is horrible, I really feel for these people. The young man in the yellow tent had been living on liquids for a month!?!? Like that guy said, noone should die alone. If it is that popular maybe there should be a perminate councillor out there to help these people. I feel so helpless living in Australia and really feel like I need to help in a way.
    So sad

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  26. « ( ... ... ) I wondered why people would want to die in such a wonderful forest. I still haven't found why. »

    To find peace. To find my place in the world. To belong to something at last. Modern life is so alienating, I feel like an exile no matter where I go.

    Yes, if I were to take my life, I would give it to the trees. It would feel right.

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  27. how do they know if all the bodies there are suicides, there could be a few homicide victims there and they would never know cause they dubbed them all as suicides. murderers could be dumping bodies there to hide their crimes.(O_O)....

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  28. I'm sure they do autopsies and research on the corpses to determine whether the person committed suicide or was murdered, Anonymous. And besides, Japan has a very low crime rate, but a very high suicide rate, so the chances of the bodies found in that forest being murder victims are very slim, especially considering how, um...popular, I guess, it is to commit suicide there.
    Anyway, I found this video EXTREMELY unsettling. I'm a bit speechless and a bit shocked. I almost couldn't make it to the end. The fact that this man, after dealing with so many suicide victims, still feels compassion for each one makes me feel a little, I don't know, happy. I respect that. Most people in his position would begin to feel desensitized or bitter, but he shows a lot of concern over the people he finds both alive and dead. I don't know if I could handle that. I couldn't even handle this video. My god.

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  29. Clearly, the forest is full of witches. Send the magical girls!

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  30. this video makes me sad, but makes me realize i have people whom care for me. and are there for when i need them most.

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  31. Some people just aren't able to live in today's society. For some.... dying in a place like that is a much more comforting thought than continuing to live the way we do now....

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  32. That was both very interesting and very sad. It's such a beautiful place for such tragedies. I suppose I can see why a person would go there to commit suicide. Since so many other people have gone there before, perhaps they think they aren't alone in there. They are somewhat among with their kin. I can imagine it might give them some comfort.

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  33. the forest seems very serene despite the ominous music theyve added to this documentary, and i know that if i could choose, i would deniatly choose a sunny day in a forest like that over a bed in a sterile hospital surrounded by all the other who are just waiting for death, wether they are young, but terminaly ill or so old and feeble that they are now just waiting for the end. that said i would very much like to have my close family with me on that day, wether it will be assisted suicide or just dying of a disease.

    dont get me wrong, i do not condone straight up suicide unless there is a very very good reason for it, mainly due to diseases that would lead to a person dying in extreme agony, either due to pain or due to losing control over their body or mind.

    here is a very good lecture about what im talking about.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qQgWCQESgo

    though there is something i dont get, there are suicide guides to this forest? how do you get hold of this? are they sold? what does this buddisth monk do in the forest? remove bodies, and forcefully stop suicides?

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