Si vous visitez le Japon et que vous aimez les chats : Neko islands!!!!

Welcome to Cat Island. No, make that Cat Islands—plural! Because in Japan, there are at least two locations in Japan with that nickname.
Perhaps the most well-known "neko shima" (猫島) or "cat island" is Tashirojima, an island in Miyagi Prefecture. In the 1950s, over a thousand people lived on the island. Now, there are around a hundred, with the majority being in their 70s.




Cats, however, thrive on the island and apparently outnumber the locals. Dogs are prohibited on Tashirojima, and people feed the felines, believing they bring good luck. Vets check up on them, making sure the animals are healthy. And tourism has sprouted up around the animals, with vacationers visiting the island just to see the cats.




In the past, the island's fishermen kept cats around to kill mice, which would eat the silkworms needed to make fishing nets. The island is also home to a Shinto cat shrine.
There's an area of Tashirojima called "Manga Island," because manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori (Cyborg 009) designed cat-shaped lodges for visitors, which houses manga art, and has a gift shop. You can also rent fishing poles and bicycles.


Recently, another "cat island", this one called Aoshima in Ehime Prefecture, has become quite popular online after Twitter user Kolmetoista uploaded the following pics of cats that inhabit the island. Only sixteen people live on Aoshima, meaning that, like on Tashirojima, these four-legged friends outnumber the humans.



Kolmetoista's photos are appearing on numerous Japanese blogs, and one of them was retweeted over seventeen thousand times.

Un petit up de ce sujet pour en ajouter un peu plus...

Je vous avais parler des quelques iles au Japon qui sont majoritairement peuplé de chat... (plus que d'humain)... et bien voici encore un peu plus d'image de l'une d'entre elle..... il s'agit Tashirojima dans la Prefecture de Miyagi et c'est la plus populaire (touristiquement) de toute la gang.

Il y a juste tout plein de ronron   et l'ile aussi est la maison d'un ''shrine'' shinto dédié au chat!

In Japan, there isn't just one cat island, but a couple. And recently, one internet commenter visited the most famous one in the country and took some lovely photos.


Located in Miyagi Prefecture, Tashirojima was home to over a thousand people during the 1950s. As previously mentioned, only a few hundred people live there now, and the cats outnumber the humans.
The felines were originally kept by fishermen to kill mice, preventing them from eating the silkworms used to make fishing nets. This "cat island" (猫島 or "neko shima") is even home to a Shinto cat shrine.
Tashirojima has become a tourist spot because of the animals. Dogs are prohibited, and the furry critters roam free.






































This week, these photos appeared on 2ch, Japan's largest bulletin board, and they are some of the best images I've seen of the island.