Japan is mourning the loss of its favorite Stationmaster.  Tama died at age 16 – which would be the equivalent of 80 or so, if Tama wasn’t a cat.  Tama was born a stray in 1999 near Kishi Station in beautiful Wakayama Prefecture, and adopted by a railway station worker there.  But that’s just the beginning.

When the railway changed hands, the new owner was planning to shut some stations.  And the staff begged the new owners to allow them to keep the cats.  The Wakayama Electric Line didn’t just allow it: the company promoted Tama to Stationmaster; brought in two fellow strays, including Tama’s mum Miiko; named a train after Tama; and actually rebuilt the station to resemble a cat!  The marketing campaign built around Tama saved the station and the jobs of the workers, winning fans across the country and bringing in tourists to see her and eat at the station’s new cafe.

Tama was a “tourism superstar extremely popular in and out of Japan who contributed greatly to promoting tourism in our prefecture. I am filled with deep sorrow and appreciation,” said Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka.