What Happens When a Duck Visits Cat Island? 🇯🇵 アヒルが猫島を訪れると何が起こるでしょうか?
Aoshima (青島), a tiny island off the coast of Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県) in western Japan (日本), has quietly risen to global fame not for its shrines or beaches, but for its overwhelming population of cats. Often dubbed “Cat Island” (猫の島), Aoshima (青島) is home to dozens of felines who easily outnumber the handful of human residents. This sleepy fishing village, once home to over 900 people during its postwar peak, now hosts less than a dozen elderly residents — and many, many cats.
Originally, cats were introduced to the island to control mice on fishing boats. Over time, the human population dwindled, but the cats stayed. With no natural predators and regular feeding from locals and curious visitors, the feline population flourished. Today, they lounge on docks, curl up on fishing nets, and nap on sunlit rooftops, becoming part of the island’s everyday scenery.
Geographically, Aoshima (青島) is a narrow strip of land just 1.6 kilometers long. There are no hotels, no restaurants, not even vending machines — only a small port, abandoned school buildings, and weathered homes standing against the backdrop of the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海). The island is accessible only by a twice-daily ferry from Nagahama (長浜), part of Ōzu City (大洲市), making visits both limited and ephemeral.
While the cats may attract Instagram-worthy moments, the true charm of Aoshima (青島) lies in its stillness — a glimpse into rural Japan’s demographic shift, wrapped in salty sea breeze and quiet meows. The aging houses and shuttered classrooms tell a deeper story of depopulation and time slowly passing. For the cats, however, time moves differently: there is always another sunbeam to nap in, another visitor to charm.
Travelers are reminded to come respectfully. There are no shops to buy cat food, and the island has no waste collection facilities for visitors. What you bring in, you must carry out. And while Aoshima (青島) is undeniably photogenic, it’s also a living community — for both its human and feline inhabitants.
In a country where cities dazzle with neon and bullet trains blur past at 300 km/h, Aoshima (青島) remains defiantly unhurried. It’s not a place to check off a list, but a place to pause, listen, and share a quiet afternoon with a cat by the sea.