Cat Is Station Master For Japanese Train Station

In Kinokawa, Japan, you'll find a feline celebrity at the local train station – and no, for once, it's not Hello Kitty. The cat in question is Tama, a stray tabby who makes her home in the station.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on June 10 2008

In Kinokawa, Japan, you’ll find a feline celebrity at the local train station – and no, for once, it’s not Hello Kitty.

The cat in question is Tama, a stray tabby who makes her home in the station. And, pretty as she is, she’s not just for show – she’s got a pretty sweet gig as station manager. Every day, she dresses up in a conductor’s hat and hangs out in a former ticket booth that’s been converted into her own office, greeting the curious visitors.

“She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place,” Yoshiko Yamaki, a spokeswoman for the rail company, told BBC News. “She is an amazing cat. She has patience and charisma. She is the perfect station master.”

In fact, Tama does her job so well that she’s even boosted the revenues of the failing railway. Though the owning company, Wakayama Electric Railway, laid off another station’s staff two years ago, Tama was rewarded with a promotion, which the company claims has boosted their numbers by ten percent.

One of the best aspects? There’s no need to pay Tama an annual salary – she’s perfectly happy to take her pay in tuna.

Filed under: Animals and Pets, Weird,

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