Aokigahara Jukai

Today in class I told a story about this haunted forest where people were known to get lost -
to the left is a picture that I took while visiting it in Japan. In Japanese it is called aokigahara jukai which means "sea of trees". This forest is 1000 years old or so, and is thick with large, old trees and dense vegetation. It is located near lake Sai in the foothills of Mt. Fuji.

Mt. Fuji is located in what's called the "Five-Lakes" Region of Japan, which has quite the fascinating history. Just north of Mt. Fuji there was only one large lake called "Lake Senoumi". When Mt. Fuji erupted in 864 AD there was so much lava that it separated that lake into 5 separate lakes. It also created numerous lava caves and laid the bedrock for aokigahara jukai.

The myth that surrounds the forest suggests that evil spirits mess with the compasses of travelers and cause them to get lost - a myth that some geologists suggest is caused by the high magnetite content in the lava that was deposited there. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to test the myth myself, but if you ever get to visit Mt. Fuji, this is a must see geological spot!

Cheers!
Ms. B