haunted Japan – Mysteries of the world

Yawata no yabushirazu is a small patch of forest located Ichikawa city of the Chiba prefecture. While the place itself might seem harmless at first glance, it would surely get your attention as the forest seems out of place between the tall buildings.

The forest is famous all over the country as a forbidden forest. People are forbidden to even set foot inside the forest and it has been fenced by a stone wall to prevent people from entering inside the forest. While Aokigahara takes all the limelight of being the most haunted forest in Japan, people who know stories about this forest regard this as an equally haunted place. The name is described as a maze-like thicket without any end or exit. This however does not mean that the forest is so large that you can get lost, the forest is literally a small patch and it is impossible to get lost inside the forest but it is believed that whoever sets foot inside the forest their soul gets spirited away and they can never return from there as it is a sacred place and those who dare enter the forest will face the divine wrath.

This theory can’t be put to the test now as nobody is allowed to enter the forest or maybe we don’t even know people might have entered the forest but they didn’t survive to tell the tale. This legend has been passed down since the Edo period and people still firmly believe in this. People often dare themselves to go inside the forest but there isn’t a single report of anyone going inside the forest and coming out alive.

Some people blame this supernatural activity on a fox spirit-deity, while some claim that the forest is haunted by the vengeful ghost of some ancient samurai lord who was killed at this place. Some people even believe that there is a poisonous gas inside the forest responsible for this.

Although you cannot enter the forest, a shrine has been dedicated to the gates of the forest and one can stop to pray on the gates. Japan is a curious country with many legends and this perfect blend of the present without damaging anything from its past is what makes japan one of the best countries.

The Aokigahara forest is located in the northwestern flank of Japan’s Mount Fuji. It has been a popular tourist destination for years.

The forest has a historical reputation as a home to “yurei”, ghouls of the dead in Japanese mythology. In recent years Aokigahara has been tainted by the name of ” Suicide forest” because of the large number of suicides happening there throughout the year.

Every year more and more bodies are found there. In 2003, 105 bodies were found in the forest. In 2010, police recorded more than 200 people having attempted suicide in the forest that year. Suicides are said to increase during March, the end of fiscal year in Japan. The increasing number of suicides has led the officials to place signs at the forest’s entry urging people of suicidal nature to seek help.

Moreover, a lot of people believe that in old times when there were famines, people used to take the oldest members of their family and leave them in the forest to die. Although many believe this to be a hoax and an urban legend that has gained popularity over time because of the internet. The paranormal activities are sometimes attributed to these events as well because the forest is ancient.

The traditional belief was that if the bodies of the dead were not cleared immediately, their souls would linger there forever.
People travelling in the forest often find clothing and sometimes even a body.
Due to the vastness of the forests, people who enter the forests carry a string along tape so that they can find their way back out. It’s very easy to get lost in the forest and gps and mobile phones do not work properly inside the forest. Many times these tapes have been purposefully cut off by someone and due to that people have got lost there.

People have reported hearing blood curdling screams while wandering in the forests. A reporter heard a scream from somewhere in the forest, he went to investigate the source of sound but found a dead body which looked like it had been there for a long time and could not be the source of the sound. There have been alleged ghost sightings and people have seen white figures drifting in between the trees. People have found curses and sometimes they feel they are being followed. The atmosphere inside the forest is in itself very eerie. Trees grow in twisted turning shapes and the roots are spread all around the floor making movement difficult, these trees are closely knit and packed blocking any kind of air and sound making the forest eerily silent where you can even hear your breath. People often have difficulty breathing and they fall sick during their visit to the forest.

Aokigahara has seen a fair share of death and paranormal. It is believed that the forest is one of the most if not the most haunted places in the world. However, this does not stop people from entering the forests.
It still attracts a lot of tourists, travellers, youtubers and paranoramal fanatics hoping to get a glimpse of the paranoramal.

Tag: haunted Japan

Yawata no yabushirazu, Japan

Aokigahara forest- (Japan)