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- Oct 7, 2024, 3:58 PM
- ☁️ 72 °F
- Altitude: 79 m
- JapanMiyagiIshinomaki ShiTashirohamaTashiro Jima38°17’52” N 141°25’11” E
Day 271: Tashirojima Cat Island
October 7 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
Not joking, it’s a real island! An hour off the coast of Ishinomaki, Tashirojima has over 100 stray felines that are cared for the by elderly residents. The cats were originally brought to help with pest control around the island's silkworm farms; they now outnumber the island residents four to one.
We took a ferry to the port Odomari where we were greeted by Jeremy (our name for him) who welcomes guests to the island. After everyone got their pictures, we stuck around and sat with Jeremy on the bench and he immediately crawled into Mary’s lap. 10/10 good first cat interaction.
It takes 36 minutes on foot to cross the island. As you climb the hill, a cat will occasionally appear marching down the road. We stopped by a cat shrine built by the fishermen to worship the cats after a rock fell on one 😢 three cats were chilling by the shrine.
We weren’t ready for Cat Island Station where at least 40 lazy cats were chilling. Some would soak up the sun on the concrete, others would chase butterflies in the grass, some were sleeping in their cubby holes. However we liked hanging out with the cats on the picnic benches. They usually wanted cuddles and pets. Kieran got a tiny cat that really digs his nails in your leg while Mary got a big fat cat that can’t breathe very well. At noon, the Island Station worker feeds all the cats and mayhem.
The cats are well cared for and fed by the island owners. They also have a vet that visits twice a month. Sadly some cats clearly are suffering from disease or perhaps cancer, and are at the stages where they stopped eating. It was hard to see them so skinny or sickly, but thats also life. We called those cats Mr. Scraggles for how cute and disheveled they were.
Eventually we walked the entire island, petting some young kittens along the way and hanging out at another big cat collective. We returned to the station for one more hour and got a nice lap kitty and two lazy boys on our bench. It was hard to leave, but we needed to make our way home.
Jeremy was at the bottom of the hill and next to the ferry stop to say goodbye to all the guests. He came and stood in front of Mary and got concerned which she dropped her ticket. Jeremy was the best host and we loved every minute of cat island.
Food:
Curry udon
Takoyaki
Spots:
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Traveler OMG. I have seen such a thing. Mary’s remote work island?