Aoshima cat island in Japan is located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The Nickname is the cat island because the majority of the island’s inhabitants are cats. The comparison between cats and humans there is about 10: 1.
The area of the island is not too big, even relatively small. The area is only about 1.6 km. The island was formerly part of Nagahama in Kita, but later in 2005, it became part of Ozu, a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
This cat island is now almost uninhabited by humans. In 1945, Aoshima was an island with a fishing village with a sizeable population. There are about 900 people who live on the island in 1945. At that time the island is not crowded with cats and there are still many human inhabitants.
Later, there are become fewer people who live there. In 2013, it was noted that the island has only 50 inhabitants. A very drastic decline occurred in 2018. Currently, there are only 13 people living there and the average age is more than 75 years old.
In contrast to the cat population, the number is not decreasing but increasing. Between 2015 and 2018 the population of cats inhabiting the island ranging between 120 and 130.
Unfortunately, in 2018 this Ehime Shimbun, a newspaper in Japan reported that all cats on Aoshima island will experience spayed and neutered process. The process in question is the appointment of animal reproduction organs, for male animals means castration and for the females, the egg-producing organ is sterilized. The process is done to reduce the cat population while the human population there continues to decline.
Actually, there are several other cat islands in Japan. Thus, Aoshima is not the only island that has a large population of cats. However, this island is most famous amongst others. The population of cats on the island is the most abundant compared to the other so that it becomes an icon of the cat island in Japan.
Now the island is like an uninhabited island because humans living there is not much. There are no restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, or vending machines there. Access to this island is quite difficult because there is only one way to arrive on the island, which is using the ferry from Nagahama port in Ehime Prefecture and it takes about 30 minutes to get there.
Ticket boat to the island is very limited. People who want to visit can not book tickets in advance. They have to be at the harbor few hours before so they can still get the ticket because they don’t sell a lot of tickets.
This island is not intended as a tourist place for a vacation or relaxing place. Tourists who come there usually aim to see the uniqueness of the island inhabited by this cat and simply feed or help the cats.
The cats that inhabit this island initially are not as much as they are today. Aoshima in ancient times is still a normal island like the island in general. The fishery business was developed a lot here.
The rats’ problems facing the fishermen on their ships, therefore, they decided to adopt the cat as their solution. Although now the fishermen no longer live there, the cats they adopt still remain. That is why the island is inhabited by cats because they are constantly proliferating.
For cat lovers, this place may be a great tourist destination. If you want to come to this island and feed the cats there, cat food should be brought along because the island is almost uninhabited. Do not forget also to keep the environment clean in the city of Aoshima cat island in Japan.
