Believe it or not, there are not one but two islands off the coast of mainland Japan that have rightfully earned the nickname "nekoshima" - or "Cat Island" in English.
The most well known of the two is Tashirojima (田代島), a small island off the Oshika Peninsula. The feline population on the island is far larger than the human population (of which 83% are elderly), and dogs are prohibited.
The second Cat Island is called Aoshima, located in the Ehime prefecture. Only sixteen humans inhabit Aoshima, meaning that, again, cats outnumber humans here.
Aoshima locals enjoying their beauty sleep.
The stray cat populations thrive in these places due to a belief amongst both locals and visitors that feeding and nurturing cats will bring wealth, luck, and good fortune. The resident cats are friendly and love the attention! Tourists visit the islands just to see the cats, and the internet is understandably just as excited. Twitter user @kolmetoista's photos of the cats (see above!) have been appearing on a multitude of popular Japanese blogs, and one photo has been retweeted over seventeen thousand times.
What do you think? Would you jump at the chance to visit the celebrity kitties? Are you just not a cat person, or perhaps allergic?
Personally, I have added a visit to either of these 猫島 to my "must do" list when I take a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.
- Emily Greenwood
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