Ainoshima Island, a paradise for cat lovers.
Ainoshima Island, or Nekonoshima in Japanese, is a small island home to over a hundred cats, located just 7 km northeast of Fukuoka. The island is only 1.25 square kilometers, with a 6 km road encircling it, and a population of only 300 people, yet boasts an impressive 100 cats. These cats are kept by fishermen to help control rats and remove fish bones.
Most of the cats on the island are strays, but the islanders care for them well and feed them at regular intervals.
Basic guidelines for visiting the cat island:
- Do not carry the cats far from where you found them, or move them between indoor and outdoor areas.
- Do not trespass on the personal property of the island's residents.
- Do not litter on the island. If you bring trash, please take it with you.
Activities on the island mostly involve searching for, playing with, and taking pictures of the cats scattered throughout the island.
Bicycles can be rented at the building near the pier to explore the island.
There are also restaurants on the island, mostly with a casual, homey atmosphere.
They serve seafood and other dishes. The restaurant offers a variety of local dishes, including rice bowls with raw fish, udon, ramen, hamburgers, shaved ice, etc., all made with fresh seafood caught daily by the locals.
This ensures the food is always delicious and fresh. If you arrive early and don't want to wait for the shops to open, you can bring your own food and enjoy it on the island. They have seating areas scattered throughout the island.
I tried the sashimi on the island. It didn't look very appetizing, but it was surprisingly clean. The dark bits were from the sauce, which was delicious with a slightly sweet flavor, unlike the sauces we're used to when eating sashimi.
Most importantly, it's very cheap; the dish I saw was only 800 yen.
Some houses are also open as accommodations for tourists to stay overnight. Staying there would be a wonderful experience.
How to get there:
1. From JR Hakata station, take the train to JR Fukko-Daimae station.
2. Take the bus from the bus stop in front of the station to Shingu Port. The fare is only 100 yen.
3. Buy your ferry ticket (one way) from the vending machine. It costs 480 yen, but don't worry, a kind old man will help you purchase the ticket. For first-time tourists who might be a little hesitant:
---> Take the ferry to Ainoshima. The return trip is the same as the outbound trip, but they don't let you buy a round-trip ticket at once. You have to buy a separate ticket for the return trip because the time will be stamped on the ticket and collected by the staff.
You can go up to the deck to enjoy the view.
We took the 11:04 - 11:25 bus, which took about 10 minutes. We boarded the ferry at 11:30 - 11:47.
Once we got off the ferry, the cats had already finished their lunch... Only a few came to greet the tourists.
The rest had all gone off to take naps during the midday meal, leaving us to search for the cats playing hide-and-seek. Some tourists even brought toys to play with the cats.
On the return trip, we took the 13:50 ferry. After all, we only managed to get pictures of sleeping cats.
Tip: Avoid going on holidays. It's popular with young Japanese people, so there will be more people than cats. Even on a weekday, the bus was full, and they had to call in an extra bus.
But if you miss the ferry, there are plenty of taxis waiting. Don't worry about missing the boat ride.
If you go during cold but sunny weather, you'll find tons of cats sunbathing. You don't have to search far and wide for them. However, it was a bit hot the day we went.
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