Not only famous for cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji, Japan also has a long list of unbelievable but true things. One of them is Tashirojima Island – the kingdom of cat residents.

Tashirojima is a small island located in Ishinomaki City, East of Miyagi Prefecture in the Tohoku region. The island has a circumference of about 11km, and is home to hundreds of cats along with the islanders. It is said that the number of cats on the island is almost twice the number of people, which is why it is also known as the “cat sanctuary”.

Cat fish god

Most of the islanders are fishermen, so they worship the fishing god. The fishing god here takes the form of a cat, so it is not surprising that cats are revered on the island. They are free to come and go anywhere on the island, be it the road, the lawn, or anywhere else.

Because cats are held in high regard on Tashirojima, dogs, their natural enemies, are strictly forbidden. Aside from their appearance as the god of fishing, there are two other main reasons why cats are so important to the island.

The first reason is that silkworms were raised on the island, and cats were the animals that helped protect the cocoons from mice. The second reason is that many of the islanders were fishermen, and they made weather predictions from the cats’ behavior every day to know the best time to go out to sea.

With such a close connection and deep history attached to the islanders, to this day, island cats still hold an important place in their lives.

Nitodako Pier is considered the entrance to Cat Island. This is considered the center where a large number of cats always gather. There is a large signboard with the content “Welcome to Tashirojima Island” decorated with pictures of cats.

The first thing that catches the attention of any visitor is the cats sprawled out on the ground among the boats on the shore, some of them being fed by fishermen. The cats on Tashirojima are used to being around people and they approach new visitors with excitement, without any hesitation.

The resting place of the cat god

About 1.7 km north of Nitodakō Pier, in the center of the island, is the Cat Shrine, protected by a red fence. This shrine was built long ago to commemorate a cat that died due to human carelessness. The shrine is a place to remember the poor cat and also a place of prayer for the islanders.

According to the locals, after the temple was built, the islanders had smooth sailing and continuously caught large catches of fish. From then on, they began to diligently bring offerings to the temple to worship the cat god. Every year on March 15, a big event takes place at the temple to commemorate the cat god.

When visiting Tashirojima Island, visitors can stay inside a unique cat-shaped inn created by manga artists Chiba Tetsuya and Satonaka Machiko.

There are some rules when visiting Cat Island that visitors should remember to avoid being fined: do not feed cats any snacks or food that affects their health, do not disturb sleeping cats, littering is prohibited, taking photos on the road is a dangerous act that obstructs traffic and can cause accidents, walking on the island is encouraged.