7/4/2023 0 Comments Miyagi to tokyoThe island’s two port villages, Odomari and Nitoda, are around 2 km apart, and you can walk between them in around half an hour (add plenty of time for cat-spotting though). What to do on Tashirojima, aka Cat Island Getting injured on a semi-remote island and requiring dramatic amounts of help is absolutely not a good look. While they look cool, they are still private property and in serious disrepair. Roaming around the island is great fun, but don’t follow the cats into gardens or garages, no matter how cute they are. The island has limited services, so do the lovely residents a favor and take everything back with you. If they approach you and are friendly, then stroke, scratch and pet away, but let the cat lead. The majority are not tame and don’t enjoy being picked up or handled. But by all means support local businesses if they are open (those onigiri make a great boat snack!) There are some small cafes, a shop and a vending machine, but the first two are very seasonal, so bring your own picnic in case they’re closed during your visit. On the other hand, you will need feeding.So while tempting them with snacks is, well, tempting, just think of their health! The human inhabitants ensure they are all fed regularly. Not to take all of the fun out of your feline adventure, but there are some tips that are useful to know about the small island and its residents. Now relying on tourism, the island has started promoting its cats, so be sure to support them by picking up some souvenirs or stopping off at one of the island’s cafes so they can keep caring for the furry felines and surviving as a rural community themselves. While you may imagine the cats as scruffy ferals, they are cared for as much as possible (but are still largely untamed), including regular visits from a mainland vet. The island is also a great place to see the unusual Japanese Bobtail breed. To this day, cats are considered auspicious. When fishing took over as a primary industry, the cats were offered fresh food by fishermen who believed they would bring good luck, and went as far as building a shrine dedicated to a local cat accidentally killed by falling rocks. Cats were the natural solution, and they were allowed to roam free for many years. Back in the Edo period (1600–1868), the islanders raised silkworms for textile production but struggled to control the silkworm’s natural predator: the mouse.
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