đ Cat-Centered Tourism
Cats arenât just products â theyâre tourist attractions:
Cat Islands: Places like Tashirojima and Aoshima â where cat populations outnumber humans â draw visitors from around Japan and abroad. Tourists come to see free-roaming cats, explore cat-branded museums and shrines, and support local economies that might otherwise struggle with depopulation.
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Station and Castle Cats: Famous feline figures such as Tama and SanjĆ«rĆ, the cat âlordâ of BitchĆ« Matsuyama Castle, are used in promotional material to attract visitors and boost local spending on merchandise, tours, and related events.
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đŸ Services and Experiences
Beyond sightseeing:
Cat Cafés: Japan hosts hundreds of cat cafés where people pay to interact with cats, offering a popular form of stress relief and leisure spending.
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Themed Tours & Digital Content: Companies organize paid experiences (like cat feeding tours), and cat influencers online generate sizeable advertising and merch revenue.
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đŠ Consumer Products & Pop Culture
Cats inspire everything from limited-edition snacks and beverages to fashion and tech gadgets â many marketed with cat imagery or tied to cat mascots â contributing significantly to retail sales.