Cat Islands in Japan becoming popular.

Onegai Kaeru team sees more people online talking about cat islands and also many online/offline news paper also featuring about it. We still do not see much practical information for those who want to visit the islands.

Thus we decided to provide some practical info on two cat islands, how to get these islands and what the cat island local says about the visitors.　Also, there are several "cat islands" in Japan, other than these two. Please refer to our latest cat island list in Japan (updated from time to time).

Aoshima island ( 青島 ), Ozu-city, Ehime, is "cat island". Due to the internet hype the island becomes one of the popular destinations for the cat lovers.

The island has 15 people( age between 50-80 years old) and more than 100 cats. There is neither inn, restaurant nor vending machine( as of Oct, 2013).

During WWII, many people escaped to the island from the main land. The island population hit the highest 655 people in 1960. There have not been enough job so many people left the island. On 1976 the island's only one primary school shut down.

Early 2000 the cat population started to grow while the human population hit then new low, 50.

Today you only see 15 people( 4 fishermen and the rest retirees) on the island.

There is no car or even a bike so no real threat to cat and there are many abandoned houses where cats can live peacefully.

(Your guesthouse/hotel options for Aoshima island. Click here) 

Another cat island in Japan is Tashiro-Jima Island (田代島) in Ishinomaki, Miyagi (86 inhabitants and more than 100 cats) where the cat is enshrined, there is a cat shrine and also cat photo competition.

<<We also offer you a private tour guide for Tashirojima Island and also Sendai area. For details, just talk to us>>

<<Your guesthouse/hotel options for Tashiro-jima island. Click here>>

Although these two islands are major and popular ones, there are several other islands in Japan which are (basically fully!) occupied by cats.  Some other islands are not occupied by cats but rabbits.

For the overseas, Malta island is known as cat island too (around 800,000 cats, and 400,000 people). 

For traveler's tip...

For Aoshima, Ehime, (35 min) boat trip 2 times a day from Nagahama Port, Ehime pref. To get Nagahama port, get off at JR Iyonagahama station and walk.　　

There are Nagahama ports in Shiga pref and Kagoshima pref also, be careful not to confuse.

Here (hard to access the website) is the time table of the boat to the island in Japanese. So we put the info from the website for you in English as below:

Price of the boat trip

One way: 680JPY (Adult=12 year old or older), 340JPY (Child=6 year old or older but younger than 12 year old)

Round Trip: 1360JPY (Adult=12 year old or older), 680JPY (Child=6 year old or older but younger than 12 year old)

If you have some check-in-baggage, it costs some hundreds JPY (i.e. 120JPY per one item(bag etc.) if lighter than 10kg, 250JPY per one item(bag etc.) if heavier than 10kg but lighter than 20kg, 390 JPY per one item (bag etc.) if heavier than 20kg but lighter than 30kg.  )

Valid as of July, 2018( subject to possible change) 

After the media reported about this island, it has become hard to get the ticket. We learnt that the ticket is sometimes sold out even 3 hours before the departure.  

For details, here is the telephone number of the Port +81 893-52-2700.

For Tashirojima, Miyagi, take Ajishimaline (40 min) cruise from Ishinomaki Port and get off Nitoda Port of Tashirojima( and, to get the Ishinomaki port, take a bus from JR Ishinomaki station)

Price of the boat trip

One way: Adult 1230JPY, Child 615JPY ( 2-3 round trips a day depending on season)

The time table is here (in Japanese ) based on which we made the English time table as below: 

NOTE for traveler: the time table changes from 21 November till (around) 9 Dec, 2016 due to the Blueliner ship check up. There will be no Blueliner during this period and Miyu and Mermaid run on different time table from the below.

Please check the official website.

For the details, here is the telephone number of the ship company +81-225-93-6125.

Valid as of July 30, 2018 (subject to possible change) 

Bring something to eat and drink, umbrella and some plastic bags to bring back the garbage at least.

In case of Aoshima, there is neither shop nor vending machine. It is common that the ship is canceled due to the high tide etc. from November till March( autumn and winter). Thus, you need to be very positive-minded enough not to be disappointed to find your ship is canceled after you travel all the way in the cold morning.

If you stay in Matsuyama, not recommended to travel from there to the port in the morning. It is 1.5hour train trip to the port from Matsuyama, considering the risk of cancellation, good to stay in some place near the port( some list of the hotel and inn here) one day before the trip to the island and stay there for a couple of days to test your luck to get the ship. 

In case of Tashirojima, unless you stay at some guesthouse or so,  there is one shop to buy some food in Tashirojima which is NOT open everyday and are only a couple of vending machines. 

Many of Onegai Kaeru team friends and thousands of tourists visiting these islands. What do local say about the visitor? Some are happy but some are not happy.

Aoshima Island shared their message for visitors:

These are 5+1 rules for the visitors for Aoshima

1. Feed the cats only at a designated area near the "community centre". Do not give food around the dock  (where people get on and off the ship)

2. Do not hang around the dock (where people get on and off the ship) so that you do not stop other logistics. ( means... once you get off the ship, just keep moving away from the dock area!)

3. Do not enter the private area ( local people's houses) without a prior permission

4. Please take the garbage back

5. Do not feed the cats too much, or the cats get sick (we do not want that, right?). If you brought too much food for cats, you can leave it in the cat food containers in front of the community center and at the waiting room for the ship.

( 6. There is a donation box in the waiting room for the ship. Your consideration (cash!) shall be used for the cat)

We did not get any message from Tashirojima yet but surely the similar rules apply. Act with consideration and good manner.

Now you know how to get these islands. Not so easy sometimes, right? Then the next question is...where should you stay on your journey to these Cat Islands? 

We featured several options and places to stay in our separate articles: 

1. For Aoshima: You want to find out where you can stay over night on your trip to Aoshima? Find out here! 

2. For Tashirojima: You can stay over night on Tashiro-jima island. Please check out the list of guesthouses here!

Are these islands too hard to get based on your travel schedule? We feature more than 10 cat islands in Japan for you. Check this latest and full list of cat islands in Japan out!!

Onegai Kaeru wants you to enjoy Japan trip.

If you are looking for more traveler"s info and can not find one, please let us know. We will try to help you with Japan Traveler Help Service (we work on hourly charge to arrange, book, find info you need). Feel free to contact us!

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Onegai Kaeru, a group of passionate travelers, bring happiness to the world with its shopping support service and original super cute items!

Source: Ishinomaki city government website, Ozu City government website, Ajishima line website, Yomiuri News

Disclaimer: Even though we try to make the info as updated and accurate but the accuracy of the information herein is not guaranteed by us. If you have any uncertainty, please contact the information source.

If you love the nature, jungle, adventure, check out our list of interesting islands in Japan!