Tashirojima (“Cat island”)

There is a small population on of mostly elderly people here. But lots and lots of cats, thus the nickname Cat island. According to the locals feeding and breeding cats brings good luck – resulting in all the cats. A funny detail is that dogs are not allowed on the island.

Originally the cats were brought to the island to control the rat population. Fishermen fed the cats, and over time the cats’ behavior was used to foretell the next catch or bad luck and similar. There are monuments and shrines on the island.