Kishi is a train station on the Kishigawa Line, in Kinokawa, Wakayama, which became world famous because it is run by… a cat. Tama, a beautiful calico, was initially adopted by the station master and after a while it was officially named station master. Like any employee of the railroad, Tama wears a station master hat, has duties regarding passengers greeting and receives a salary in… cat food.
A lot of publicity started around Tama, and just one year after, the number of passengers increased by 10%, contributing over 1 billion Yen to the local economy! In 2008, Tama was promoted as “super station master", receiving also an office, a converted ticket booth and a couple of feline assistants. And in 2009, Kishigawa Line launched a Tama decorated train, the Tama Densha…
… but Tama’s fame is spreading: a little time ago, I discovered in Okayama a streetcar decorated in a similar manner - a lot of Tama drawings, her paws and the Tama logo:
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Yesterday’s Japan Photo:Narrow Buildings Photo 19, Ueno Matsugaya |
