Tashirojima (田代島)
Another place to check out is Aoshima’s sister island, Tashirojima (田代島), which is located off the coast in Sendai (仙台市), in Ishinomaki (石巻市), Miyagi Prefecture (宮城県). The island is home to over 130 cats and has less than 100 human residents living in the area. The best way to get there is to first travel to Sendai, then change to the local JR train to Ishinomaki Station (石巻駅). Afterwards, you can either take a bus or taxi to the port or walk 30 minutes to get to the ferry terminal. The boat ride takes about 40 to 50 minutes—again, depending on the weather, and there are around three departures a day. A round-trip usually costs about ¥2,460.
The cats on the island are held in high regard, so much so that dogs are strictly banned. This is due to the cats’ historical importance—Tashirojima once used to be a centre for silkworm production in the late Edo period, so the residents brought cats to the island to not only help control the mouse population but to also protect their silkworm farms. Additionally, many current islanders are also fishermen, and it is said predictions on the weather can be made depending on the cats’ behaviour.
As a result, the present felines who are said to be descendants of the original cats are mainly thought of as lucky and auspicious. There’s even a neko-jinja (猫神社; “cat shrine”) in the middle of the island specifically dedicated to the feline residents. As the story goes, due to a bout of carelessness, a rock fell and killed one of the cats. Thus, the shrine was built as a sign of dedication. To this day, fishermen still continue to make offerings at the shrine every year on 15 May.