#Sky over Lake West#: A 14-Day Free Independent Trip to Kansai - D2: Cat Train, Kii-Mikoshi-ji Temple, and Kuroshio Market

May 24, 2025, cloudy with rain. Today I plan to experience the legendary cat train on the Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line.

The hotel’s buffet breakfast was very rich, with many choices, well-balanced nutrition, and really great!

Set off. Arrived at Platform 9 of Wakayama Station. The elements of Cat Tama are very obvious; there are photo frames along both sides of the stairs.

First, let’s talk about the origin of this legendary line:

Kishi Station is the terminal station on the Kishigawa Line, which was once owned by Nankai Electric Railway. As a local line, Kishi Station faced closure years ago due to operational losses, but was later taken over and continued operations by the Wakayama Electric Railway Company.

This is a story of good deeds rewarded. The Kishigawa Line, originally belonging to Nankai Electric Railway, had long been running at a loss because of its remote location and the declining population along the route. In 2003, it was sold to the Okayama Ryobi Group, which then established a new company called Wakayama Electric Railway and renamed the line the Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line. However, the line’s losses did not improve; the entire line was almost deserted. Gradually, the station buildings became shelters for stray cats, and nearby residents fed the homeless cats every day. In 2006, to save costs, the company turned Kishi Station into an unstaffed station. There were no staff or service facilities inside; passengers simply dropped their fare into a collection box when getting off. Apart from a platform that offered shelter from rain, only the stray cats were left to welcome travelers day after day, barely keeping the line running.

At that time, Kishi Station faced demolition due to road planning. Worried about the survival of the stray cats, the residents approached the president of the Ryobi Group. The president himself was a dog owner, not a cat person, but he was moved by the residents’ kindness and the cats’ stunning beauty, especially a calico cat named Tama (たま). The president recalled that when he saw Tama’s sparkling eyes, he felt affection, and noticing her calm, steady demeanor, he suddenly had the idea of letting her guard the station.

In January 2007, Tama, representing a group of stray cats of various colors, took office and became the first cat stationmaster in Japanese railway history. From then on, the Kishigawa Line became famous, passenger traffic surged, and it soon turned a profit and prospered, also boosting tourism revenue for all of Wakayama Prefecture. Tama was rapidly promoted several times: from stationmaster to super stationmaster, from super stationmaster to deputy president, and then from deputy president to chief stationmaster of the Kishigawa Line, becoming the fastest-rising, highest-ranked, and only female executive in the company. Tama had one subordinate, apprentice stationmaster Nitama (にたま), who assisted with station duties. Tama’s compensation was upgraded from occasional cat food to a lifetime supply of cat food, toys, and medical benefits. And the unstaffed Kishi Station, which had been nearly demolished, was transformed: the station was renovated and rebuilt in the shape of a cat, with a café and souvenir shop inside, drawing crowds of tourists ever since.

In 2015, Stationmaster Tama passed away from illness (at a cat age of 18, equivalent to about 80 human years). She was succeeded by her subordinate, Nitama. Nitama also had one subordinate, apprentice stationmaster Yontama (よんたま), who took on the duties that Nitama used to perform. (Why no Santama? It is said that the company had another mascot cat whose name sounded similar to Santama, so to distinguish, the numbering jumped from Nitama to Yontama.) Under the guardianship of the cat stationmaster, the Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction. (The above introduction is sourced from the internet.)

First, buy a 1-day pass, 800 yen each. It allows unlimited rides on the Kishigawa Line for the day, which is very cost-effective (a one-way trip from Wakayama Station to Kishi Station alone costs 410 yen).

Purchasing the 1-day pass also gives a commemorative booklet and postcard, and you can collect commemorative stamps and seals at the major stations on the Kishigawa Line as souvenirs.

Here are the stamps I collected. At Itakiso Station, when I transferred to another cat train, I was short on time and couldn’t find the stamp stand to get a chop, so I missed one.

The pattern on the postcard shows the effect after getting all three stamps (at Wakayama Station, Itakiso Station, and Kishi Station). Isn’t it beautiful?

This time, I experienced three trains, two of which were cat trains with different designs. First, let’s look at Train No. 2705.

Tama’s patterns cover every corner of the entire train.

The seating arrangement in the cars is also quite distinctive, not uniformly arranged but diversified.

Arriving at Kishi Station, you can first check the train timetable, estimate the time, and come back for the next train. Step out of the station for a walk.

After a quick walk around Kishigawa City, I returned to Kishi Station and boarded Strawberry Train No. 2701.

The driver’s cab is transparent.

At an intermediate station, I encountered Cat Train No. 2276 and decisively transferred.

This car has even more beautiful interior and richer content.

There are cute photo frames of Cat Tama.

There are related books about Cat Tama.

There is a souvenir display window.

The best part is that there is even a baby activity area.

After about two and a half hours, I returned to Platform 9 of Wakayama Station, then took a train from Platform 1 directly to Kii-Mikoshi-ji Temple. When I arrived at Kii-Mikoshi-ji Station, it was raining. Although it was only a few hundred meters to the temple, my shoes got completely wet from walking.

Kii-Mikoshi-ji Temple was founded in 770 by a monk from Tang (present-day China) named Kōmyō Shōnin, with a long history. The name “Kii-Mikoshi-ji” comes from “a temple with three wells located in Kii Province.” These three wells still produce Seijōsui (pure water), Yōryūsui (willow water), and Kisshōsui (auspicious water). These well waters have been selected as one of Japan’s Top 100 Famous Waters. There are also solemn structures such as the Sakura Gate built in 1509 and the Tahōtō built in 1449. In addition, about 1,200 cherry trees are planted on the grounds, making it a famous early-blooming cherry blossom spot that attracts many visitors during the flowering season. Kii-Mikoshi-ji Temple is the second temple of the Saikoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, a network of Kannon sacred sites spread across the Kinki region and Gifu Prefecture, drawing many pilgrim worshippers from all over Japan.

Leaving Kii-Mikoshi-ji Temple, the next stop was to go to Kuroshio Market for seafood. The rain was still falling. Originally, it was not far from Kii-Mikoshi-ji Station to the bus stop, but when I asked some middle school students who were leaving school at the station, they weren’t very sure either. So we decided to take the train (two stops) back to Wakayama Station and then transfer to Bus No. 42 to Kuroshio Market (from terminal to terminal). It was a bit clumsy, but at least it was fail-proof. We arrived at Kuroshio Market around 1:30 PM and missed the tuna filleting show.

Wakayama Prefecture’s Kuroshio Market is the most established fresh food market in the Kansai region, with a history of nearly 17 years. Decorated in the style of a 1960s Japanese market, it is a famous seafood market in Kansai. It can be called a seafood museum, with a dazzling array of seafood from all over Japan, from Kyushu to Hokkaido, making one’s mouth water. Three scheduled tuna filleting shows are held here every day. Using only a knife, a huge tuna is neatly and cleanly disassembled in an instant—the whole process is spectacular and exciting. Fresh seafood can be eaten at the restaurants, and various local specialties can be purchased at the souvenir shops.

Kuroshio Market is located on the artificial resort island of Wakayama Marina City. It is a bustling seafood market that offers freshly caught seafood. Enjoy mouthwatering sashimi, fresh seafood grilled over charcoal, or after a full day of sightseeing, buy seafood to enjoy at various attractions in Wakayama Marina City.

Very fresh tuna rice bowl.

Seafood noodles. For some reason, during this trip to Japan, any dish with soup had very salty soup.

After eating, I walked out of Kuroshio Market and went to Porto Europa across the street. This is a Mediterranean-style shopping area with an amusement park, restaurants, and souvenir shops, perfectly recreating an Italian fishing village, French town, and Spanish castle. Porto Europa is open to the public for free, allowing you to enjoy a peaceful seaside stroll in an old European atmosphere.

For the return trip, I took the bus back to Wakayama Station. At the station hall, there were volunteers (beautiful ladies) who could speak Chinese to help those in need. We asked her to reserve reserved seat tickets for the morning of May 26 to Shirahama (8:48 AM). After checking on the machine, she found that during this period, many people were going to Shirahama Adventure World to see pandas (reportedly the pandas were returning to China), and all reserved seat tickets for the limited express train from Wakayama to Shirahama were gone (she estimated that even if we had reserved immediately after buying the Kansai Wide Area Pass at Kansai Airport, we might not have gotten them). The Japanese really love pandas.

Unable to get reserved seats, we had no choice but to take a regular train to Shirahama. So we continued to ask her help to reserve seats for the afternoon of May 26 from Shirahama to Kii-Katsuura, choosing the 5:20 PM train.

Then we also reserved seats for May 28 from Shingu to Tottori, in two segments: 6:14 AM from Shingu to Osaka Station, and 12:56 PM from Osaka to Tottori Station. Well, finally done! And of course, many thanks to the beautiful volunteer for her help.

It was dinner time again. Since it was raining, we didn’t want to wander around looking for food, so we settled for McDonald’s nearby.