Japan and the entire world are striving to overcome the pandemic to enter the epidemic phase, and by this autumn, I expect to be able to lead my annual Mt. Fuji Autumn Leaves Photo Tour. The travel restrictions should be eased so international photographers can visit Japan during fall and enjoy the majesty that is Japan’s iconic volcanic peak, Fujisan. For nearly two and half decades, I have been exploring Mt. Fuji and its surrounding region; Mt. Fuji is a vortex power spot, one that I am constantly drawn to. Everyone who visits Japan should be introduced to Mt. Fuji’s splendor, topography, and history. One of the most dynamic elements of Mt. Fuji’s history is its earthshaking volcanic eruption of lava flows in 864 that lasted for 10 days. A seemingly endless amount of cinder and ash were ejected from Mt. Fuji. That eruption created a 3,500-hectare wasteland lava field that functioned as the origin of Aokigahara, the sea of trees, today, a healthy, flourishing forest with trees that grow in naturally occurring volcanic compost planting pots. There are countless caves, ice caves, volcanic crevices, and dormant lava tubes throughout the sea of trees. Japanese folklore and the sea of trees go hand in hand, and there are countless stories about this forest. The most famous legend is that Aokigahara is the most haunted forest in all of Japan, and another one is that compasses allegedly don’t function properly; this is patently untrue, and in the forest’s modern history, there are hundreds of documented cases of people that have gone missing in the forest because they’re not educated in wilderness survival, not carrying a compass, water, raincoat, or a first aid kit. People too often depend on their smartphones, but there is no cellphone coverage in over 95% of Aokigahara. To properly navigate the sea of trees, you need a map, a compass, or a GPS, but I’d recommend having all three, and I also recommend carrying a satellite phone; two-way radios don’t always work in Aokigahara. If you do enter the forest, make sure you have essential survival gear and be warned of bush fever because Aokigahara is a silent forest, and you can easily get turned around and lose your direction.

The Sea of Trees is made up of Volcanic rock, and Volcanic rock absorbs sound, and it tends to disturb first-time visitors; and if you do get turned around in the forest and get lost and catch bush fever, calm down and stay away from the mushrooms growing in the forest, or you may start hallucinating and see supernatural beings such forest spirits called the Makiawisug, or the Little People, or even worse, you may see a Jubokko tree that could suck the blood out of your body from one of its branches. I’ve supplied two images below that could be interpreted as a Tree Spirit Woman/Hamadryad with an ursine aspect that appears to be holding a baby.

Superstitions surrounding the forest are so prevalent that even American cinema has picked up on it, and the movie ‘Sea of Trees’ starring Matthew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe has content based on accounts from people who visited the forest. On my first camping expedition there, I camped on a trail, and the next morning, I went for a quick stroll. After a few steps off the trail, I realized the ground beneath me was unstable. Carefully, I kneeled and spread my body out on the ground; I lifted up a thick layer of green moss and dug into about a foot of peat moss, and below that was razor-sharp volcanic rock. If I had ended up continuing my stroll, I could have very easily fallen into a volcanic planting pot, broken my ankle or leg, or even worse, and I could have fallen into a cave, gone forever. Thankfully, I was close to my campsite and trail, not veering too far from the established path.  As a Mt. Fuji local, I am familiar with the area's topography surrounding and including Mt. Fuji. I have explored dozens of caves in the Sea of Trees, and many stand out in my memory. For the tourists, I recommend the Narusawa Hyoketsu Ice Cave. No matter what season it is outside, the ice cave temperature hovers around zero degrees Celsius year-round. During the colder times of the year, it’s possible to see the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites actually connect along the cave walls and pathways. The sacred Dragon King’s cave with its Shinto shrine is another cave for first-time visitors to experience the forest safely. The legend of the Dragon’s cave is that in ancient times a dragon inhabited the cave, and when local villagers needed rain for their crops, they would pray to the dragon to assist them. The cave is tucked away in the heart of the Aokigahara forest. The temperatures inside the cave also stay at or below zero degrees Celsius. These two caves are just a sample of the many different adventures I share with participants when Mt. Fuji is on our Japan photo workshop itinerary.

Part 2 of this article will be in the coming days.