Miyagi Tashirojima | Cat Island
Are you a cat lover? Well Tashirojima, known as Cat Island, might be the place for you. Tashirojima is a small island in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, with a human population of approximately 100 and a cat population of much more. It is said that the cats were brought to the island for mice control many years ago, but since then when much of the human population abandoned the island, the cats stayed behind with a few locals that still reside on the island. The cats survived these years thanks to these locals who fed and cared for the cats believing it would give them good luck and prosperity. Not surprisingly, dogs are banned from the island. Though the human population on Tashirojima has continued to decline, these cats have attracted curious tourists and cat lovers in recent years.