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'Stationmaster' Puts $10M in Town's Kitty

Japanese hamlet cashes in on calico's popularity

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 30, 2008 3:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Japanese hamlet of Kishikawa has hopped aboard the Tama express, CNN reports, with the local economy getting a $10 million boost as the calico-turned-hat-wearing-stationmaster gains popularity within and beyond the nation’s borders. Folks flock to the town for a break from city life, taking pictures with the feline and buying "Super Stationmaster" merchandise. And the rail line that serves the town, once in trouble, is now healthy.

A Japanese rail line, under construction.
A Japanese rail line, under construction.   (AP Photo)
Tama, a 9-year-old female cat, wearing a stationmaster cap and a neck sign reading: Super Stationmaster Tama rests at Kishi Station in western Japanese city of Kinokawa.
Tama, a 9-year-old female cat, wearing a stationmaster cap and a neck sign reading: "Super Stationmaster Tama" rests at Kishi Station in western Japanese city of Kinokawa.   (AP Photo)
Another notable Japanese mammal: 50-year-old female orangutan Gypsy holds and reads a magazine at the Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo.
Another notable Japanese mammal: 50-year-old female orangutan Gypsy holds and "reads" a magazine at the Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo.   (AP Photo)
Passengers take a rest inside a Shinkansen bullet train.
Passengers take a rest inside a Shinkansen bullet train.   (AP Photo)
A train in Japan.
A train in Japan.   (AP Photo)
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