Today, I will introduce you to Ainoshima in Fukuoka.

In Fukuoka, you can enjoy strolling around the city and eating delicious food, but you can also relieve your stress at Ainoshima, Japan’s famous cat island. In fact, Ainoshima was once named one of the “World’s Five Greatest Cat Islands” by CNN News, and is a famous spot for cat lovers.

I took the subway from Fukuoka City to the end of the line at Kaizuka Station and then transferred to the Nishitetsu line to get to Nishitetsu Shingu Station. I had heard that the Nishitetsu trains have a cat design on them, so I decided to take the train this time.

When I was there in April, I saw beautiful cherry blossoms.

After arriving at Shingu Port from the station, I took the ferry. The ferry ride takes about 15 minutes. There are about 150-200 cats on Ainoshima right now, and they are all very sweet. When you get off the boat, many of them will welcome you. When you get to the island, you’ll find the cats lounging around easily.

Some cats were laid back and then suddenly running around, others dozing on a chair on the side of the road, and still others were lying in the middle of the road.

Along the shoreline of the beach, you’ll find lots of cats.

The island isn’t that big and there aren’t many sights to see. However, you can walk around, take pictures, and relax and watch the cats. You can interact with and take pictures of the island’s cats, but do not feed or graze the cats at all.

My favorite was this black cat. He was really agile at first, and I couldn’t keep up with him when he ran on the rocks on the beach, but in the end I got to take a picture of him.

In addition to cats, you can see the huge rocks of Hanagurise, known as Megane(glasses) Rock, and ‘Ainoshima tsumiishizukagun’, a national historic site. Megane Rock, located on the east side of Ainoshima, is a basalt rock with a hollow in the middle that has been eroded by seawater waves. It can be seen from the ferry.

If you live in Fukuoka, how about coming to Ainoshima for a half-day trip to see the cats?

Here’s more information on how to get to Ainoshima.

Fukuoka Prefecture Ainoshima