Japan’s Railway Stationmasters: An Innovative Menagerie
It all began back in 2006 when some Japanese railway lines, in order to cu back on expenses, changed from being manned to unmanned. Railway officials selected local business owners to serve as honorary stationmasters and for a while, all went sort of well for Kishi Station in the central Japanese town of Kinokawa.
Stray cats began feeding at the station and one named Tama in particular, an 11-year-old, tortoiseshell calico, was developing a significant fan base both among commuters and locals who would stop to play with her. In January of 2007, Tama was crowned honorary stationmaster and became a national celebrity. The Wakayama Electric Railway pays for her upkeep, which consists of her hat, food, office (a ticket booth no one uses) a litter-box and two feline assistants whose job descriptions aren’t quite clear.
The presence of the cat has increased ridership by 10% annually and brought 1.1 billion yen (over US $10 million) into local coffers. Two years ago, the “Tama Densha” (a train painted up in Tama graphics) began running on the Kishigawa Line.
The Tama phenomenon encouraged other strapped railway lines to jump out of their proverbial thinking (or in this case, litter box).
Some also use cats but others use different animals. Consider Nehime and Rakan, two baby monkeys who have been named stationmasters at Kasai’s Hojo-cho station in Japan’s Hyoto prefecture. They were only seven months old when appointed to task and they do need improvement with their railway etiquette, as they are known to sometimes throw their poop at passersby.
There are at least two stationmaster dogs along the national railways. One is a shaggy off-white Akita named Wasao who is Tourism Stationmaster of Ajigasawa station in far-northern Aomori prefecture. Another canine leader is Maron (“Chestnut”), a pint-sized Yorkshire Terrier who ruled the Oku-Nakayama Kogen Station in Ichinohemachi on the Iwate Ginga Railway Line from September of 2000 until his death in August of 2009.
Two goats, Koma and Taro, perform stationmaster duties, which may or may not include eating their hats, in different stations in Japan; one at Uzen-Komatsu in Kawanishi, Yamagata Prefecture, and the other at Uminonakamichi on the JR Kashii Line.
If all of this isn’t amazing enough, there is also one rabbit stationmaster (Tsubasa) at Unomachi Station in Seiyo, Ehime prefecture and a tortoise at the JR Ibusuki Station in Ibusuki City, Kagoshima prefecture. Kotaro is a 25-year old African Spurred tortoise that weighs 41kg (90 lbs). Even further out, Shishikui Station in Kaiyō, Tokushima Prefecture, appointed a pair of lobsters as their stationmasters. The Asa Kaigan Railway set up an aquarium in the station’s foyer and after finding it difficult to make the lobsters wear their hats, propped a stationmaster’s hat above their tank.
Last but not least is the penguin stationmaster Shima-chan, a 9-year-old female Humboldt Penguin who only “works” 30 days a year.
All aboard!
Check out this video about Tama and her rise to fame.
(Link)
MDeeDubroff
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