Cute Japanese Cats

This Japanese cat was not happy to be disturbed

Japanese people often love cats. It’s quite common to see cats in Japan. Strangely, many local cats in Japan don’t actually have tails. These are strange looking cats indeed.

The Japanese word Neko (meaning cat) was one of the very first Japanese words I learnt. I also learnt to recognise the Kanji character for cat – 猫.

When many people travel to Asia they’re intrigued to see small statues of cats. The statues are especially common in small shops, as legend has it that the cat can bring good financial wealth.

Beckoning cats at the Gotoku-ji temple in Setagaya

The statues are often called Maneki-Neko, or the beckoning cat. In the Setagaya district of Tokyo there’s even a temple dedicated to these statues. In the grounds of the temple is a shrine containing hundreds of beckoning cat statues. Look for the shop in the temple complex and you can buy your own lucky cats.

Nekkobukuro cat's house

While cats and small dogs are popular pets, many people live in apartments that are too small for even the smallest cat or dog. Amazingly, there’s even a place to go in Japan if you don’t have a cat of your own. In Tokyo inside the top floor of the Tokyu Hands department store in Ikebukuro there’s a small petting zoo where you can pay an entrance fee then go in and play with the resident cats! There are a variety of cats to play with. Inevitably a large number of them will be asleep at any one time, but that’s a cat’s life for you.