People, every time I think the Japanese have handed our asses to us on a Hello Kitty silver platter for the last time, they go ahead and beat us again in the Cute depahtment.
Behold "Tama" the stationmaster for an unmanned train station in Kinokawa. The hilariousness continues over at Yahoo! News.
Photo by AFP. Sender-Inner Shawn S., thanks A LOT for pointing out another Japanese victory.
BLEEN! I love the hat!!
She looks so pleased with herself… “Yeah, I haz a career, I earns mah kibblez”.
i am particularly enjoying the flatness of the front right paw…complete with thumb. Looks like an empty mitten. You naughty kittens have lost your mittens…
A few years ago, I saw a news story about a cat that works at a post office in California. The cat lies in a basket and licks stamps…or something.
Sorry, can’t see the cute this time. Nothing against the cat. Very well tempered to put up with the not cute costuming.
Shouldn’t it be stationmistress, not station master? I love the classic snotty Calico look of superiority. My calico also likes to dress up. The princess outfit and the handknit fine merino wool sweater are her faves.
I’m tellin’ ya, Meg!! JAPANESE REDONK!! New category! You know you want to!!!
Cute pic, too!
In the article it says that cat holds the 5th highest position in a company of 36. How demoralizing would it be for a cat to be promoted above you?? hehehe
HA! Total “Taxi Driver” scene…”you talkin’ to me?”
Meg, I just love you. I come to this site multiple times a day. You are hilarious. HILARIOUS. It’s like getting a double shot because I come for the cute, I stay for the funny.
That is one sassy kitteh
Squte. That cat has sass.
Skimbleshanks!
I emailed this to everyone i know yesterday. Isn’t she the cutest, looking all tuff w/ that lil’ hat.
The train on platform threee is delayed, while everybody stops to scritch me.
My train in Sydney, Australia, is always late in the morning peak hour. If Tama was at my local train station to say hello to each morning instead of the grumpy old huMan stationmaster, I would certainly mind a little less. No wonder she has been good for business!
Pardon me, boy, is this the Transylvania station?
Yeah, yeah and it’s arriving on time.
It’s Shimbleshanks!
*begins to sing*
@gail-
Trahn-syl-vahniah nexta.
And I don’t think that the snorgleable kitteh is made of taffeta, darling…
Look closely at the hat, ya’ll. Is that a little golden strawberry in the center, or is it just me? I want a job where I get to wear a medal and a hat with a golden strawberry!
but at metro north we just have machines…why metro north why!
To me this is ‘cute or sad’ if this really is the only female to hold a ‘managerial’ position with this company.
CaroL, I was looking for more evidence of this strawberry-train-logo and found another picture of the kitteh: http://www.japanprobe.com/2007/01/nya/11.jpg
And:
http://www.southernledger.com/images_ap/28beab3e-4d87-48b7-af01-8794f26a70e9-28beab3e-4d87-48b7-af01-8794f26a70e9.jpg
And finally I found a picture of the train, looks like strawberries to me!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Wakayama_Electric_Railway_Ichigo_EC.jpeg/800px-Wakayama_Electric_Railway_Ichigo_EC.jpeg
Hehehe~~
I can’t stop smiling & giggling because all the funny comments! I just love coming here
Re Katey’s links — even the *train* is cute! (Sighs with longing…)
The hovertext is, again, bree-liant, Meg!
here’s another story about her on Yahoo. It tells of people buying up merchandise with her on it, and even a photo book of her:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_fe_st/railway_cat;_ylt=Av5.RAiD_lrVh96tnmMOA3KhOrgF
LOL! I’m sorry, I wish I had something witty, but I really cannot stop cracking up over here.
This would ONLY happen in Japan. You have to love a culture with enough inherent playfulness to do something like this without most people thinking it’s crazy. I respect that a lot more than I do sushi or lousy cookie cutter anime. In fact, Tama can have my sushi.
He totally rocks the Alternative Lifestyle.
Yup, definitely a strawberry. That picture of the train Katey found says “ichigo densha” on it… Japanese for “strawberry electric-train”!
Road trip to Japan! Who’s with me?
@whiskers: Taffeta, sweetheart!
It may be a play on words, “ichigo” in Japanese also means “one”.
The cat is adorable! I want to snorgle it. ^_^
“I can haz afternoon off?”
I agree with you 100% BGee the costume is not cute this time at all.
I was just reading this story! cute! XD
Seriously, how do they keep that cap on her?
Why does it look like she’s saying “Yeah, I’m pimpin’ this hat. What about it?”
So adorable.
Tama-Taisho the MAN-san.
That mat Tama is lying on seems to be decorated with strawberries, too. I LOVE strawberries. Also this cat.
Why do some of you think the cap is not cute?
Reminds me of the book “Hachiko Waits”,
also a true story.
This cat just made BBC radio news- national radio 4 in the UK. Clearly the bbc reads cuteoverload.
Strawberry Electric Train with a calico (mi-ke, lucky in Japan) kitteh conductor girl.
I for one welcome our new Japanese QTE overlords.
Not even close to cute.
MJ you are right, but it should be “Number One”, so it is a pun with “strawberries” and “number one” sounding the same
so it’s the number one train in the end
we own cute!
I think every business should be required to hire at least one animal so as to cut down on the animal unemployment rate. I am berthaservant, and I approve this message.
Well, yeah, BerthaServant, except most cats of my acquaintance are quite happily unemployed. Mine won’t even do any housework.
It’s Kishi station.
That poor kitty. Singlehandedly raising the usage of the train station and all they do is give ‘em some basic privacy? Hrmmm!
My old Sabrina was the same way. When my brother moved into the basement, she had her box in a SEPARATE ROOM.
Still, when she’d have to use it, she’d meow at my brother a few times and he’d go upstairs to give her some privacy.
She had us trained well.
but- how *IS* it possible to have our asses handed to… repeatedly like this?? geez-oh… (shrug) that’s some good stuff though, you know? i’m at a cuteness loss.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7421259.stm
The cat has spawned a range of popular merchandise, including a picture book called: “Diary of Tama, the Station Master.”
This kitty is so cute!!!!! I loved the article.. “works 9 to 5, Sundays off” Kitty works harder then me lol
The train is actually called the Strawberry Train… and it’s pretty cute in its own right, with strawberries all over the interior! http://zip.4chan.org/n/src/1211912438069.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ponkan/1916837105/
(More pics of Tama-chan in the latter link too!)