Aokigahara Forest (Jukai)

photo by mtzn · CC BY-SA 2.0

photo by Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France · CC BY 2.0

Here a compass deviates only if it is placed on the lava: that is not why walkers get lost.

The marked trail crosses the 樹海 (jukai, ‘sea of trees’) on a lava flow from 864, basalt rock almost without soil: in about 1,200 years trees with short roots have grown on it, roots that spread out at the surface and emerge twisted among the stones. The same lava, solidified outside and still liquid inside, carved tunnels up to 4 km long: two of them, 富岳風穴 (wind cave) and 鳴沢氷穴 (ice cave), can be visited with a ticket and no compulsory guide; in them the ice does not melt even in August and the temperature stays at 3°C.

The forest covers about 30 km² between Lakes Saiko, Shōji and Motosu, on the north-western slope of Fuji, inside Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It was formed by the lava flow of 864, the Jōgan eruption that covered the north-west slope of Fuji and buried the ancient Lake Senoumi, leaving only two fragments of it, today's Lakes Saiko and Shōji. The forest has been a national Natural Monument since 1926 under the name ‘富士山原始林及び青木ヶ原樹海’; the two caves have both been national Natural Monuments since 17 December 1929.

ℹ️ The trail is open, free and always walkable, marked every 200 metres; hiking shoes are useful because of the exposed roots and damp ground. Between the two caves, through the woods, the walk takes about 20 minutes. 富岳風穴: open all year with seasonal hours (9:00–17:30 in high season, 9:00–16:30 in winter), 350 yen adults/200 yen elementary school children. 鳴沢氷穴: open all year with seasonal hours (9:00–17:00, except 9:00–16:00/16:30 from mid-November to mid-March), same ticket prices. Both also offer a guided tour in Japanese, booking required and separate from the entry ticket: 12,000 yen per group for one cave only (1 hour), 18,000 yen for both with a walk in the woods (2 hours), minimum two people.

🚉 51.Fugaku Fuketsu (wind cave) · 4 min walk

Sources: pref.yamanashi.jp · env.go.jp · cnh.shizuoka.ac.jp · ja.wikipedia.org · mtfuji-cave.com · mtfuji-cave.com · mtfuji-cave.com · yamanashi-kankou.jp · online.bunka.go.jp · online.bunka.go.jp · online.bunka.go.jp

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