Do you like cats?
I love cats.
I always think how happy I would be if I could live surrounded by cats.
There are many islands where people live like that.
The most famous one is Sanagijima Island in Kagawa Prefecture.
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Famous for Flying(Jumping) Cats, a Representative of Cat Island
Many cat lovers may already know about it…
Sanagijima Island is a very famous spot on Shikoku where you can take pictures of flying cats.
There are many references on the internet, and the cat density is quite high.
Access to Sanagijima Island
You can get to the island by boat from Tadotsu Port in Kagawa Prefecture.
There is a free parking space at Tadotsu Port, so you won’t have to worry about parking.
There are not many ferry services, so be careful.
Here is time table as of June 2020.
From Tadotsu to Sanagi Island.
| Tadotsu ⇒ Sanagi(Motoura) |
| 6:55 |
| 9:05 |
| 14:00 |
| 16:20 |
From Sanagi Island to Tadotsu.
| Sanagi(motoura) ⇒ Tadotsu | Remarks |
| 8:05 | |
| 10:00 | |
| 14:50 | Saturday only |
| 15:25 | |
| 17:10 |
The ride time is about 50 minutes and the fare is 680 yen for one way.
I recommend leaving Tadotsu at 9:05am and returning at 14:50 or 15:25 for cat photography.
If it’s hot in the summer, I strongly recommend leaving at 6:55am.
Time and fares are subject to change, so please check Official web site.
By the way, Sanagi Island and Manabe Island are very close, but you can’t visit both islands in one day by boat from Tadotsu.
It seems that it is possible to get there by boat from the Kasaoka side of Okayama City, not the Shikoku side.
I’ve never been to Sanagi from the Okayama side, so I can’t tell you how to get there…
Density of Cats is Just as Rumored, a Real Cat Island
A chair with a statue of a cat in the waiting area of the boat just off the ship.
A cat underneath it!
A good start.
It’s indeed the famous Cat Island.
After that, the cats appear one by one.
The town is a maze of narrow alleys, and there are cats on the side of the road.
The combination of alleyways and cats is also picturesque.
When I visited Sanagijima Island in June, it was the season for cats to give birth, and I also met this scene.
Sea + Cat, the best part of Cat Island
Since I came to Cat Island, I thought it would be a good idea to take pictures of the ocean and a cat.
Cats on the island are not afraid of the water.
They don’t mind walking around on the beach.
First of all, I snapped a picture of a tiger cat on the beach.
These are cats who are walking along the breakwater.
That’s right!
This breakwater is the jumping board for the cats.
Flying Cats
It’s time for the real flying cat scene.
Here it comes!
This is a picture of a flying cat.
It’s a beautiful picture of a flying cat.
The white cat behind me is a nice touch.
This one also has a pretty good jumping power.
It’s quite beautiful to see a cat flying.
I also tried to get an angle from below.
However, there are a few things to consider when taking a picture of a flying cat, so I’ll summarize them here.
1. Raise the shutter speed to about 1/1000
2. Use a wide-angle lens because it tends to be out of focus.
3. Narrow down as much as possible to focus.
4. If the shutter speed does not increase, adjust the ISO.
5.If you release the shutter after cats start flying, you will not be able to release the shutter in time.
6. Use the continuous shooting function of the camera.
I highly recommend this spot!
