Tashirojima island [田代島]
A cat in Tashirojima
Cat Shrine in Tashirojima
DSC04770, Photo by wellflat1985
Map around Ojika Peninsula
There is Ojika Peninsula in the northeast part of Miyagi Prefecture.
Tashirojima is an small island on the west side of the tip of the peninsula.
It is about 3 km from north to south and 1 km from east to west.
The distance between the island and the peninsula is about 4 km.
The ferry comes from Ishinomaki port, and the distance from Ishinomonaki is about 15 km.
The cultivation of silkworms to produce silk had ever been the main industry.
Because mouse is a natural enemy of silkworm, cats has been kept to catch mice in this island.
Fishery has also been the main industry in this island.
In old times, a fisherman buried a dead cat with all the proper honors.
After that, the fishermen in this island had a good catch of the fishes and no accident at sea occured.
A cat at Cat Shrine
Cats in Tashirojima
The people thought that the dead cat became a god, and they built Cat Shrine.
Now about 50 people live in this island but over 100 cats are in this island.
This island was introduced by TV in 2006, then it have been popular as an island of cat.
How to get here
By JR Senseki line, from Sendai to Ishinomaki, 1 hour by rapid train, 1.5 hours by local train.
The port for Tashirojima is about 2.5 km from Ishinomaki station.
The route bus is inconvenient, so you should use a taxi.
The company name of the ferry is "Ajishima Line".
It takes 50 to 70 minutes to the island by the ferry.
