The Internet has long had a love affair with cats — and now has cat-loving tourists flocking to a small, remote island in southern Japan where cats outnumber humans six to one.
Home to more than 120 feral cats, Aoshima Island has no stores and no cars. It has one ferry, running twice per day, carrying a limit of 34 daily visitors, as Reuters reported.
“I seldom carried tourists before,” ferry captain Nobuyuki Ninomiya told the Japan Daily Press. “Now I carry tourists every week, even though the only thing we have to offer is cats.”
(Thomas Peter/Reuters)
(Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Feeding time. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Cats crowd village nurse and city official Atsuko Ogata as she carries a bag of cat food to a designated feeding area. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
Cats beg for food. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
(Thomas Peter/Reuters)
(Thomas Peter/Reuters)
A cat leaps at the photographer to snatch his lunch. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
The music room of a derelict school. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
