Malaysian hiker almost lost in forbidden part of Japans suicide forest

And it is even better if you were to go without reading up too much on the destination prior to your visit. Just get basic information like how to get there and where to stay.

Of course, there are many types of travellers: Some would want to know and plan for everything beforehand, while others – like myself – prefer to just... wing it. Fortunately for me, I usually end up getting the best experiences from travelling this way.

One example is when I walked through the Sea Of Trees or Aokigahara in the Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan. I was in Tokyo a few days earlier for work, and had extended my stay. From the city, I took a bus to Lake Kawaguchi or Kawaguchiko, which is about two hours away.

Kawaguchiko is near Mount Fuji, and even though I wasn’t going to climb the mountain, I thought it would be a nice place to explore and hike. It was only when I got to the train station at Kawaguchiko, and ruffled through the tourist brochure, that I realised just how close I was to the infamous Aokigahara forest.

OK, cool.

The brochure was very useful and it gave me all the details I needed about hiking to Aokigahara. (Many of us now would just Google or check an app for information, but don’t dismiss the value of a physical tourist brochure, especially if there is no WiFi available in the area!)

I got on the tourist bus that would take me to the starting point of the Aokigahara walking trail, or so I thought. I must have missed the stop because when we got to the end of the route, it did not look like the picture in the brochure. I was the only one left on the bus so I asked the driver, “Aokigahara?”

He looked at me, nodded and pointed at the door.

OK.

There was a visitors’ centre or something at the place, but when I went into the building there was no one around I could speak to.

OK.

I found a trail behind the building that led into the forest. There was a sign in Japanese which I could not read, but since it did not have the “No Entry” symbol on it, I figured it was safe to enter the forest.

The trail was clear and looked like it had been properly built for walking or hiking purposes; it was also big enough for a whole horse carriage to go through.

As I was trying to decide which direction to go, an elderly man and a teenage boy suddenly appeared and the former cheerily said “Ohayo!” (good morning). “Tourist?”

“Yes.”

“OK, enjoy!”

I took another path, one that had a little more light than where the men went. It was a wonderful trail and very easy to navigate, as long as you stayed on the path. Every now and then I came across distance and direction markers, but none were in English. No big deal, I thought, because I seemed to be going the right way... until I came to a section that... felt different.

Suddenly the beautiful forest was all quiet, and I could no longer hear the insects, bugs and small animals. The air also felt... it felt like there was no air, no breeze. Had I accidentally walk over to the “forbidden” part of the forest?

(The forbidden zone is clearly marked, although there is no large barrier – just a rope – that would prevent anyone from walking in.)

I started to get a little paranoid and looked around, but then I didn’t want to “see” anything so I stopped and kept walking instead.

There was more vegetation in this part of the woods, and the tree roots grew everywhere so the path was no longer clear. I had to stop every few meters to make sure I was moving straight forward and not to the left or right.

It was a little eerie but I was mostly afraid of getting lost than anything, as my phone signal was also very weak.

About 20 minutes later, I finally came across a sign nailed to the root of an interesting-looking tree with a pinkish bark. Again, I had no idea what the sign said, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless.

There was a bench nearby so I sat down and took a lunch break. As I was eating, I heard some children laughing in the distance... it was a group of schoolboys and their teachers having a field trip in the forest.

“Konnichi wa!” some of them said as they walked past me, a few bowing their heads.

“Hello!” I replied.

One of the boys stopped, smiled and said, “Good afternoon.”

I continued my walk, all the way to the Saiko Bat Cave Information Centre, which is the actual starting point of the Aokigahara walking trail. I had missed the Bat Cave tour (yes, there are some caves you can explore here), so I went back into the forest to see how much further the trail would take me.

As it turns out, it took me back to where I started. Perfect.

For a pictorial guide on how to get to the Aokigahara walking trail, check out the Yamanashi Prefecture tourist website (shorturl.at/awAJP).