If the statue of the famous dog Hachiko draws the crowd in Tokyo’s Shibuya (train) station, there’s a “hero” cat in Wakayama City that transformed the once “insignificant” Kishi Train Station into a major tourist attraction.
Dolled up with a stationmaster cap and badge, Tama (a Calico cat) plays a far more significant role than simply being a mascot of the station.
“This cute feline has actually saved the station from financial ruin,” explained our tour guide Kumiko Shimamoto of the Wakayama Tourism Federation.
We were part of the media group invited by Cebu Pacific for a familiarization tour of Osaka and its neighboring city Wakayama. The curious story of Tama popped up over dinner when a colleague asked Kumiko what are some of Wakayama’s best-kept secrets.
“Tama is a major tourist attraction here in Wakayama not only because she’s super cute, but because her story is quite interesting,” she enthused.
Situated in the quiet, rural neighborhood of Kinokawa, the Kishi Train Station takes passengers to and from Wakayama and the outskirts of the city. For years, the journey was lightly traveled so the Nankai Electric Railway, which used to manage the route, closed down in 2004 due to financial difficulties. In 2006, the Wakayama Electric Railway took over the Kishigawa Line.
On its opening day, the owner of the store next to the Kishi Station was ordered by local officials to vacate the area because it was built on public road.
“The store owner Mrs. Koyama, who owned several cats — including Tama — considered the Kishi Station not only her second home, but her cats’ as well,” shared Kumiko.
Mrs. Koyama appealed directly to the president of the Wakayama Electric Railway to at least allow her cats to live in the station building.
“Tama is a Calico cat. Some people would pay three million yen if she were a male. Tama is a female but she is still worth 1 million yen,” Mrs. Koyama told the president.
According to Kumiko, the president got intrigued with Tama and asked for a meet up. Needless to say, Tama captured the president’s heart... and soon the hearts of the (Kishi Station) passengers as well, as the company appointed her as stationmaster!
As expected, Tama pulled in the crowds. And since her appointment, the station has witnessed a healthy growth of visitors — young and old — just to have a “selfie” with the “executive” cat.
“Tama mans her post from Tuesday to Thursday. During her days off (Monday, Saturday and Sunday), a cat named Nitama pinch-hits for her,” explained Kumiko.
Our group arrived in Wakayama on a Saturday so the chance to meet Tama in person was a remote possibility. Well, that didn’t dampen our spirits.
“Where does Tama usually go during her day off?” I asked Kumiko, who gamely replied: “Well, she could be picking strawberries, having soy sauce ice cream or watching a tuna-cutting show in Kuroshio Ichiba by now.”
THE SEARCH IS ON!
Our search for Tama led us to Kinokuni Strawberry Farm in Gobo where we had a field day picking and eating strawberries!
Wakayama Prefecture is considered as the “fruit bowl” of Japan due to its abundant nature and milder climate. And with March being the season for strawberries, we hit the jackpot as each berry we picked was big, sweet and juicy. Still, Tama was nowhere in sight.
So off we went to the Yuasa Soy Sauce Factory, the birthplace of everyone’s favorite dip and seasoning. Who knows? Tama could have ran out of dip for her sashimi.
Yuasa town in Wakayama is where soy sauce was first produced. A monk discovered that the liquid residue when making miso could actually be used as a flavorful condiment. What makes Yuasa different from other soy sauce brand is that it takes the art of fermenting the potion to heart. The company uses 100-year-old barrels to ferment the dark liquid for anywhere between two to five years before bottling.
At the Yuasa Soy Sauce Ltd. Factory, a plant tour can be arranged with a yummy treat after — soy sauce ice cream, which tasted like salted caramel. Unfortunately, Tama wasn’t at Yuasa either.
We even checked out Kuroshio Ichiba, a fish market that offers a great selection of fresh fish and seafood at reasonable prices, in case Tama decided to watch the live tuna-cutting show, which we enjoyed.
Armed with a sharp, long knife, the tuna master engaged everyone in the audience with his swift and precise strokes in dissecting the giant tuna, even serving up the best parts in a buffet restaurant on the market’s second floor where we had our filling lunch.
Our search for Tama came to an abrupt end when our tour guide Kumiko announced that we needed to be at Kansai International Airport in less than an hour lest we miss our flight back to Manila.
While boarding the bus, I made a promise to myself that I’d definitely go back to Wakayama to meet Tama hopefully before she turns into a cold statue like Hachiko.
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Cebu Pacific Air flies between Manila and Osaka five times weekly. It also operates direct Manila-Tokyo and Manila-Nagoya flights, and is set to launch direct Cebu-Tokyo flights on March 26, 2015.
For bookings, visit www.cebupacificair.com or call (02)7020-888 or (032)230-8888. The latest seat sales may also be found on Cebu Pacific Air’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.
For more information on Osaka and Wakayama, visit the Japan National Tourism Organization website at www.jnto.go.jp/philippines or the city websites at http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/ for Osaka and http://www.wakayama-kanko.or.jp/world/english/index.html for Wakayama.