Sign up for Simon Calder’s free travel emails for expert advice and great deals
Get Simon Calder travel emails
A small island off the northeast coast of Japan has an unlikely guardian angel: cats.
There are more animals than people on Tashirojima, and there is even a “Cat Shrine” that celebrates the presence of cats.
Legend has it that the island was once famous for silk farming, and farmers kept cats to scare off rats and guard the silkworm cocoons.
More than 100 cats live on Tashirojima Island. (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The island’s fishermen have traditionally believed that cats bring good luck, such as large catches of fish.
Another legend says that fishermen would observe the cat’s behavior before setting out to sea to predict the upcoming weather.
The islanders have coexisted with cats for a long time, but one day, a fisherman accidentally injured a cat while working. Feeling sorry for the cat, the islanders decided to build a cat shrine.
Tashirojima is an island in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, in the Tohoku region, and became famous for the devastating damage it suffered in the tsunami caused by the magnitude 9 earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011.
Japanese Cat Island Photo Gallery (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
According to the city’s website, Tashirojima is home to more than 100 cats and about 50 people.
Cats groom themselves and socialize along the roughly 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) paved road that runs between the island’s two ports.
There are a few cafes and inns, but no car rental companies, gas stations or public transport, so visitors must walk up and down the hills to get to the island.
Most of the cats have gotten used to tourists, who can be seen petting the friendly cats all over the island.
