New cat stationmaster

KINOKAWA, Japan, Jan. 7 Kyodo - Calico cat Yontama is pictured after being appointed the third feline stationmaster alongside a feline apprentice recruit, Rokutama, at Wakayama Electric Railway's Kishi Station in Kinokawa in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 13, 2025. Yontama succeeded Nitama, the second stationmaster who died in November, continuing a nearly two-decade tradition that has boosted tourism and helped save the line from financial trouble. (Kyodo)

New cat stationmaster

New cat stationmaster

Calico cat Yontama (R) is pictured after being appointed the third feline stationmaster alongside a feline apprentice recruit, Rokutama, at Wakayama Electric Railway's Kishi Station in Kinokawa in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 13, 2025. Yontama succeeded Nitama, the second stationmaster who died in November, continuing a nearly two-decade tradition that has boosted tourism and helped save the line from financial trouble.

New cat stationmaster

New cat stationmaster

Wakayama Electric Railway Co. President Mitsunobu Kojima holds Yontama, a calico cat appointed as the third feline stationmaster at Kishi Station in Kinokawa in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 7, 2026. Yontama succeeded Nitama, the second stationmaster who died in November, continuing a nearly two-decade tradition that has boosted tourism and helped save the line from financial trouble.

Japanese railway commemorates 10th anniversary of cat stationmaster

Japanese railway commemorates 10th anniversary of cat stationmaster

Yontama (L), an 8-month-old calico cat, receives a letter of appointment from Wakayama Electric Railway Co. on Jan. 5, 2017, making it an apprentice stationmaster at Idakiso Station on the Kishigawa Line. Nitama (R), a cat stationmaster at Kishi Station, held by Mitsunobu Kojima, president of the railway operator, also attended the event held at Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, which included a ceremony to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the appointing of Tama, the first feline stationmaster at Kishi Station. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo