Kishi Station - a monument dedicated to the tailed stationmaster (11 photos + 1 video)

At this train stop in southeastern Japan, the stationmaster was the incredibly popular cat Tama.





In 2004, Kishi Station in the Japanese city of Kinokawa was in danger of closing due to low ridership and footfall. That's when a lucky little kitten mascot was born and saved the rural station on the Kishigawa Line of the Wakayama Railway from bankruptcy and closure.



In an attempt to minimize expenses, the station management fired all employees and hired workers from nearby enterprises as part-time caretakers. Local woman Toshiko Koyama, a saleswoman, took the position of station caretaker Kishi. She began feeding stray cats.





And so the station was joined by Tama, a stray cat who was hired in 2007 as the stationmaster and station executive.



The cat casually wore the stationmaster's hat at an angle, and gradually charmed people so much that tens of thousands of visitors a year began flocking to the station, keeping the station open for locals and turning the once-dormant spot of Wakayama Prefecture into a tourist hotspot.



In 2010, the station was renovated to look like a cat station, and a cat-themed cafe opened inside. There's even a Tama-themed train leaving from the station.



The tailed boss was given a real office, built from a ticket booth, and two subordinates - her own striped mother Miiko and a cat Chibi.



In 2015, Tama passed away and was replaced by her student Nitama, continuing the successful tradition. The caretaker was buried with honors, a chapel was built in her honor right on the platform, and she was given a posthumous promotion, appointing the deceased cat as the patron goddess of the railway company.