r/bonecollecting • u/burbex_brin • 13h ago
Advice What is this animal I found in an Abandoned Hotel in Suicide Forest, Japan?
To put this picture in context, I was in Japan exploring Aokigahara, better known as The Suicide Forest. It's not widely known that due to the bad reputation of the forest, many hotels on the edge of the forest, and some even in the forest have closed down. As I was exploring one with an amazing rooftop view of the forest, i discovered this dead critter - I've always wondered what it was - any ideas?
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u/TaraxacumVerbascum 12h ago
I hate that people call it that.
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u/burbex_brin 11h ago
I'm not exactly a fan of the phrase either, but most people wouldn't recognise it by its real name - i think it means "sea of trees" and when i was standing on top of the abandoned hotel looking over the forest, the trees really did sway like an ocean - very beautiful place.
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u/GreyRabbitMia 7h ago
The name Aokigahara (青木ヶ原) translates to "Blue Tree Meadow". Its nickname, Jukai (樹海), means "Sea of Trees".
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u/burbex_brin 4h ago
青 is more like "green" but can mean blue in some circumstances [source - i speak Chinese] you're right about the other bit tho.
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u/GreyRabbitMia 4h ago
Oh true! I didn’t even check it from the Google summary I was just like how could one get sea of trees from that lol.
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u/peachpinkjedi 6h ago
It would help people recognize it as Aokigahara to call it that. Also, wildlife found there will be found elsewhere in Japan; the distinction in this case isn't needed.
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u/SculptusPoe 5h ago
Yeah, don't sweat it, I knew exactly where you were by that name, and by its other names I wouldn't have known without looking it up.
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u/Hashimotosannn 10h ago
I hate it too. Totally exaggerated.
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u/cmonster64 6h ago
It’s far from exaggerated. There’s a video on YouTube that follows an old man who’s literal job it is to go into the forest and find people to either talk them out of killing themselves or report another death.
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u/Few_Dinner3804 6h ago
I watched another YouTuber who went just for the click bait shiggles (I watched it because I wanted to get an idea of the landscape — in short, that forest is ANCIENT and INCREDIBLE) and they found a VERY recent one. The problem was he was alive the first time they saw him and he got a little panini pressed about that, and when they went back later, he was "still there" if you get my drift. :( they reported it.
They were also several hours into the forest with no phone service, so it's not like they could have realistically stopped him, especially because he displayed hostility towards them.
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u/stlove_ 13h ago
Full body pic?
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u/burbex_brin 12h ago
well, you're gonna have to buy me dinner first... ha ha... seriously, here's a quick video - it's got a mega long tail - https://youtu.be/TO69AEcbDyQ?t=722
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u/Economy_Sort_9159 12h ago
Could it be a flying squirrel?
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u/DjoooKaplan 12h ago
Would say flying squirrel too
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u/Fossilhund 8h ago
Rocky?
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u/obscuredreference 5h ago
With that tail and the membranes, definitely a musasabi, imho.
They are pretty cute, and can get huge.
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/TPRenkyilbE
View of inside a nest later in this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjDPwqi3RM&pp=ygUM44Og44K144K144OT
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u/Substantial-Ad3376 12h ago
Im torn on this one. The tail is longer than I would expect for a bat, but the wing membrane is more defined that I would expect for a squirrel. Then again, I'm not a zoologist.
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u/burbex_brin 11h ago
it was the tail that really threw me off
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u/Twizzlers_and_donuts 7h ago
The front hands are wrong for a bat. The webbed part of a bats wings are made up of the arm and four of their fingers and the only hand part that is not actually in the webbing is the thumb. That video showed full normal sized front hands so not a bat.
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u/obscuredreference 5h ago
If it’s pretty big, it’s a musasabi. Japanese flying squirrels come in various sizes and the big ones can get surprisingly huge.
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u/bidoof-chan 9h ago
i’m very much not an expert but based on the face alone i would for sure say some kind of squirrel
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u/narwhalsarefalling 4h ago
It’s Aokigahara, not what you called it. Locals hate it when people call it that and it’s only due to it’s mythos that its popular as a site at all.
Also, that’s a flying squirrel
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u/Nearby-Stranger-0_0 7h ago
I’d think this is for sure a squirrel. The lil hands, the head and nose shape, the teeth and the tail all seem to me like it’s def a squirrel but what kind I wouldn’t be able to tell you lmao
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u/George-the-Janitor 5h ago
That place is probably soo haunted
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u/burbex_brin 4h ago
Someone had let off a powder fire extunguisher inside. When I went in it was all over the carpet, when i left, there were footprints... run away!
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u/roadkillsoup 12h ago
Not a bat. That's a rodent; particularly a flying squirrel. The dwarf flying squirrels native to Japan are incredibly cute... when they still have their fur on.