|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Konglishman
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Location: Nanjing
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
|
 Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:48 am Post subject: |
 |
|
Very nice!
I'm in Japan now, and many of my students have even told me about Tama the Cat! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JBomb
Joined: 16 Oct 2008
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
| In Korea, they would run away in fear, try to scare the cat or kick it out of the way. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Konglishman
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Location: Nanjing
|
| Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| In Korea, they would run away in fear, try to scare the cat or kick it out of the way. |
Yes, that is probably true. I have a theory that the Korean dislike of cats was a direct response to the Japanese love of cats. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Konglishman
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Location: Nanjing
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well, here is another place in Japan that is hoping to revive its economy with cat tourism.
| Quote: |
TASHIRO ISLAND, Japan (AFP) � The elderly residents of a small Japanese island swarming with cats are hoping that their trademark animals will attract something they've been missing for years -- people.
The fishing village of Tashiro, known as Cat Island, has shunned dogs for centuries in the belief that cats invite a big catch.
The island's 100 residents, most of whom are aged well over 70, are hoping that cats will become a drawcard in a campaign to attract tourists and, hopefully, people who want to settle down here.
"You may think this place is so peaceful. But if there's a fire, there is nobody who can help put it out," said Yutaka Hama, 49, who leads the Tashiro tourism promotion group.
"I want young people to come. There are folks here who would teach them fishing," said Hama, who moved to Tashiro a few years ago and is now an inn operator and fisherman.
Hama's wife, Aiko, is by far the youngest woman here at age 37, with the second youngest woman in her 60s.
Besides dogs, there are lots of common sights in modern Japan that are absent from this island, from all-night convenience stores to traffic signals and children.
The human population has fallen ten-fold since 1960 as many moved to cities.
But a couple of years ago, Tashiro became famous as Cat Island when a television network introduced one of the moggies -- Jack the Lop Ear, a shabby white-and-black tom with a drooping left ear -- to the nation.
Jack is now a celebrity in the town, with his slowness compared with other cats only adding to his popularity.
"I'm so happy to see Jack," said Shiho Amano, an 18-year-old cat lover who came from the central city of Nagoya to see a photo exhibition arranged by residents promoting tourism here.
"I want to live here after I retire," the student said, showing the screen of her cellphone which had snapshots of the cat.
Jack is not the first cat to become a national idol in Japan, nor to help revive the fortunes of an area aching for life.
Tama, a tortoiseshell stray, was last year named "master" of Kinokawa railway station in western Wakayama prefecture and given an official cap to go with the job. Her presence has led to a tourist -- and financial -- boom for the small city.
In the face of the apparent success of the campaign to use the cats to draw visitors, Tashiro's cat opponents have conceded defeat.
"I must say I appreciate them as they bring people here," said Mitsue Tsuda, a 65-year-old avowed cat hater, who complains of cats sneaking into her house.
"They don't wipe their feet even when it's raining," she said while admitting that the cats do look cute in the exhibited pictures.
Tashiro fishermen traditionally give part of their catch to cats, which are spotted everywhere on this 3.14-square-kilometre (7.9-square-mile) island 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) off the port city of Ishinomaki in northern Japan.
Kazuko Hatakeyama, 69, does not fish but some 20 cats "commute" each day to her house, a result of her twice-a-day feeding for decades.
"Since they come to my place and plead for food so much, I don't have any other choice. Whenever I go out, they follow me," she said as she fed the cats raising their paws and mewing loudly towards her.
The ferry between the island the mainland used to have only 10-20 passengers a day on its three daily trips after the summer season. But by September this year that number had roughly doubled year on weekdays and more than tripled on weekends.
"We see more people carrying cameras and food rather than fishing rods," said an official of the Ajishima Line ferry, adding that tourists were still coming despite the winter weather.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081230/lf_afp/lifestylejapananimalcat_081230033718 |
[/quote] |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
keetrainchild
Joined: 06 May 2008
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:14 pm Post subject: Re: Has anyone here met this Japanese cat? |
|
|
| Konglishman wrote: |
| http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oLmPhVZTkII |
"This video has been removed due to terms of use violation. "
*sigh* |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Konglishman
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Location: Nanjing
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
