Information

Tama has a minion!

Nitama and Yontama the Besties

Tama

The

Custom Spectrum Feli
Owner:

Jessi

Age: 6 years, 6 months, 4 weeks

Born: September 27th, 2017

Adopted: 6 years, 6 months, 4 weeks ago

Adopted: September 27th, 2017

Pet Spotlight Winner
October 4th, 2021

Statistics

Level: 1
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Speed: 10
Health: 10
HP: 10/10
Intelligence: 0
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

Honorable Eternal Stationmaster Tama

Wakayama (和歌山, or "Harmonious Song Mountain")is a prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. While it is a smaller-populated prefecture, it is still well-known for many wonderful things: one of the first Japanese-style Buddhist temples is found in Wakayama, and rumor has it that its oranges, apricots, and strawberries are among the most delicious in Japan. Tourists can take a trip to the old Wakayama castle, spend a relaxing afternoon in an onsen, look out over the beautiful Pacific Ocean, and buy a train ticket to see a cat.

...wait. What was that last part again?

In 2004, the final stop on the Wakayama Electric Railway, Kishi, was near closure due to financial problems. Although locals relied on this railway for their every-day needs, the Wakayama Electric Railway Company could not keep up with costs to maintain and staff the station. All staff was laid off, and a local business owner, Toshiko Koyama, was selected to be the station master.

Koyama was well-known for taking care of a group of stray cats that lived across from the station. One of these cats, a little calico named Tama, was especially beloved by Koyama. Eventually, Koyama adopted Tama, and Tama would accompany Koyama to Kishi Station. Travelers to and from Kishi would stop by to give Tama a pat and a treat or two - and then something amazing happened. In 2006, the citizens of Kinokawa demanded the station stay open - not just for their daily travel needs, but for Tama, too!

In 2007, Tama was awarded the official title of Station Master of Kishi Station. A special hat was made just for Tama (to show off her new status), and she was paid a generous salary of cat food. More importantly, however, the publicity Tama brought to Kishi Station lead to an increase in passengers! In fact, it led to a huge increase of ridership and ticket sales, too.

In 2008, Tama was promoted to Super Station Master. She was given a beautiful new office and a new nametag with an S - for Super - added. In 2009, Wakayama Electric Railway made a new train - the Tama Densha - that was customized with pictures of Tama!

In 2010, Tama's success reached such levels that Wakayama Station was redesigned to look like a cat! And in 2013, she received yet another promotion: she was now the Honorary President of Wakayama Electric Railway.

Sadly, in 2015, Tama passed away due to complications with heart failure and kidney disease. She was 16 years old. Her Shinto-style funeral was attended to by thousands of her fans from all over Japan. She was given the posthumous title of "Honorary Eternal Stationmaster", and even enshrined at a nearby Shinto cat shrine as a spirit goddess.

These days, Kishi Station hosts a Tama Museum, a gift shop where you can buy all sorts of Tama goodies, a Tama café (complete with Tama-shaped treats), and Tama's beautiful shrine. Tama's successor, Nitama, was promoted to be the Station Master at Kishi Station, and you can visit her during her working hours (be sure to check her schedule)!

So in between visiting the ocean, relaxing in an onsen, and eating a strawberry or two, be sure to take a ride on the Wakayama Electric Railway to visit Kishi Station -- a station saved by a cat and her dedicated fans.

art and credits
layout by

Bug
overlay by

Ankoku
Cartoon Tama and photo of Tama are from the official
Wakayama Electric Railway page
story by me
(all other photos are from my 2017 visit to Kishi Station)
read more about Tama