Cat lovers! You will love this island.
Actually it is already one of your most popular destination. Do you know why? The island has more cats than people.
This is not a terrifying place like the weird Island of dolls in Mexico, but a cat island! The Japanese island of Tashirojima has become one of the popular destinations for the cat lovers. It has been nicknamed ‘Cat Heaven Island’.
Cats were first brought to the island to keep mice at bay from the silkworm farms. But when industry left the island, so did the human population. That’s when the cat population boomed.
The locals believe these cats bring them good luck and prosperity. The fishermen also believe that the cats help predict weather patterns. But do not forget, dogs are not welcome!
Another cat island in Japan is Aoshima island (青島) with 15 people (between 50-80 years old) and more than 100 cats. During WWII, many people escaped to the island. The island population hit the highest of 655 people in 1960. On 1976 the island’s only primary school shut down. In early 2000 the cat population started to grow while the human population hit a new low, 50. Today you only see 15 people (4 fishermen and the rest retirees) on the island.
