Tashirojima, Cat Island, Japan

Tashirojima Island, Japan. Home of cats. And a few people.

Would you love to go to an island that is ruled by cats? Well okay, not ruled exactly (thought I bet that is what they think) but on the Japanese island of Tashirojima there are more cats than people. The island is tiny, only about 8 square miles. You can cover it in 1 day, and undoubtedly pet a LOT of cats. It's paradise for crazy cat ladies and crazy cat gentlemen.

 Around 100 humans live on this island. No one is exactly sure how many cats live there. The population has dropped dramatically, from about 1000 in the 1950's.There are only two villages on the island,Nitoda and Oodomari.Cat Island was mainly a farm for silk worms and a little haven for fishermen. The production of silk worms has died out, and now only a few fishers and people in the kitty tourist trade live there. The Island got inhabited by so many cats because of a mouse problem. Mice seriously threatened the silk worm trade as silk worms are one of their favorite snacks. They brought in cats as mice are cats favorite snacks. Ingenious!

This is our town bub!

The cats got a pretty  good deal, because as well as plenty of mice to feed on, the fishermen became very fond of them and they got plenty of fish to eat. Cats themselves are very good fisher-kitty's and the fishermen watched them for signs about the pattern of fish and weather. The feline-fisherman team was a great success.

Cats is the best fishers! Silly hoomins with their nets.

Among the main stop offs on the island is a cat shrine called neko-jinja. The story behind the shrine is sad but sweet. One day the fishermen were throwing rocks to each other to weigh down their nets. A cat was hit and killed by one of the rocks. The fishermen felt so bad for the loss of the cat that they buried it and built a shrine for it. It still stands, and is one of the tourist attractions of the island. Many people come and leave little cat statues, toys and idols, as this is supposed to bring good luck.

Now that tourism has become one of the main trades on the island, there is now even a inn called Hamaya for all those cat enthusiasts out there who would like to come and stay. I believe they even run their own blog to keep everyone updated of the affairs of cat island.

Neko-jinja.Of course, cats have always known they should be worshiped.

The islanders see the cats as both friends and an opportunity to attract tourists, and hopefully a few new residents as they are in dire need of them. One of the attractions is a cat named Tare Mimi Jack, meaning Droopy Eared Jack. He was featured in a movie about cats. The movie was called Nyanko the Movie and was assumably quite successful considering that three sequels have been made. Jack was featured in the original movie, and an update on his life made in each one of them. A lot of people go to the island in an effort to find Jack and take a picture with him.

Now this is the purrfect accommodation!

Besides Jack, many other cat photo contest are being held on the island. Many buildings have also been built in the likeness of cats. They are pretty cute. Just like their furry inspiration. If you'd like to stay in one the trip from Tokyo is about four hours. The closest town is the port of Ishinomaki, and I have heard that visitors travelling from afar should fly to Sendai.

 If I ever end up going to Cat Island I can't help but think of taking a big sack of cat nip with me. Then all the cats on the Island would love me, and I would have tons of cute furry kitty minions following me around. If I ever do end up going. Who knows, maybe I will even find Jack of the Droopy Ears. I will make sure I have tons of room on my camera, considering I can't stop myself taking pictures of my own cats all the time. Hopefully you enjoyed this post, please comment, share and tell me if you did!