Honorary Station Master in Kishi Japan
Wow! Over 3000 people attended the funeral of Tama the Cat over a June weekend in Kishi, Japan. What made this cat so special?
Tama started life as a stray cat, scratching for food around the Kishi railway station. The railroad was also barely scraping by, with empty trains and looming bankruptcy. Just for fun, some cat-loving station workers began allowing the naturally affectionate calico cat to greet patrons at the ticket gate.
Tama soon become so popular that she was promoted to Honorary Station Master. The ticket booth was outfitted with a special cat perch and the number of riders began to increase dramatically. Tourists from all over Japan, and even the globe, flocked to Kishi to meet Tama!
The Kishi train was adorned with calico cats galore, with Tama's logo avatar greeting patrons at every station. Even the dining car was outfitted with Tama logo fabric and curtains. Tama tees, fans, stickers, an
d other logo merch sold at the station began to pop up all over the world.
Incredibly, Tama is not only credited with rescuing the railroad from disaster, tourism has also lifted the small town of Kishi into prosperity. What a cool cat story!
Here's a link if you would like to read more about TAMA the CAT in this Daily Mail article.
