Calling all cat lovers!
One of Japan’s southern remote islands, Aoshima, is bustling with feline frenzy, eerily outnumbering the humans 6 to 1. Originally used to curb the mice problem in the boats, the cats populated and eventually began to overrun the island. Now Aoshima is swarming with over 120 cats.
It’s been named Cat Island (for obvious reasons) and is the island’s main attraction. Since there are no hotels, restaurants, cars, or even stores, the feral felines are the reason people visit. You can take a 30 minute ferry ride from the coast of Ehime to get there.
The island locals are pensioners who didn’t migrate to find work elsewhere after World War II. And now it’s got a few curious tourists (34 to be exact—that’s how many the ferry holds) visiting to marvel at the plethora of these adorable creatures.