It feels like just a little while ago when Tama first became a celebrity cat when she was appointed by Wakayama Electric Railway Co. to become the resident Station Master Cat for Kishi Station on the Kishikawa Line. For Today’s Japan Photo, we get to see Tama again on the fifth anniversary of her appointment at the train station together with her successor “Ni Tama (ニタマ)” alongside (on the right).

This cat is truly a celebrity in Japan with her own special train and even promoted to become a corporate executive of the Wakayama Electric Railway Co..

While Tama still greet tourists that travel all the way to see her, she is considerably older now and when she is napping, “Ni Tama” will take over that responsibility.

Image Credit: MSN Sankei

Hope that Tama can retire soon and spend the remaining of her years chasing yarn balls and butterflies on a nice peaceful plot of farmland ^^

Initially he thought that just 1 maneki neko is too lonely so he decided to add more companions and now he has a total collection of 888 maneki neko!!!

Source: Japan Probe

Its rather funny because at the end of the clip, the taxi driver meets someone who really hates cat and she doesn’t want to ride in his taxi.

After drinking a sip of the wine, a pair of kawaii nekomimi (cat ears) pops out of her head, and she starts to behave like a cute neko musume XD

I’m convinced that I need to start offering this amazing drink to every kawaii girl I meet next time.

Noticed that the cat is so sound asleep that it didn’t even move when its owner placed a can of beer on its head.  XD

Each pair will retail for just 2,000 yen and is scheduled to be release on 29 Oct 2010. . Interested folks can place your preorders with Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan or Otacute.

I’m guessing that the owner has laced catnip in the curry. LOL

Source: JapanProbe

But come to think of it, I sometimes behave like the neko when I’m served yummy food XD

So this CM shows how the neko salaryman plans his business trip using “Jalan”.

Source: JapanProbe

As usual, Tama appears nonchalant of all the bustling crowd and media folks. It seems like all she wants to do is to take her kitty afternoon nap.

The cat has climbed the ladder of success swiftly since she was first appointed as the stationmaster in January 2007. Tama was promoted to “Super Stationmaster” the following year and to corporate executive in a mere three years since her first appointment. Tama is officially introduced as an operating officer on the company’s Web site.

Since the company took over operation of the Kishikawa Line from the Nankai Electric Railway Co. in 2006, annual users have increased by about 300,000 to some 2.2 million. As the company considers Tama has played an important role in increasing passenger numbers, it decided to reward the cat’s contribution with accelerated promotion.

“Tama has also contributed to drawing public attention back to felines as dogs continue to enjoy greater popularity,” said President Mitsunobu Kojima. The railroad company plans to rebuild Kishi Station into the shape of cat’s face this summer.

Too bad Tama is not getting a pay rise because she has gain 0.3 kg in the past three years. To keep her in good health, she is not getting “paid” any more cat food than as per usual. LOL

Source: Mainichi JP

Soon the railway company will give her some shares and she can purchase a nice farm and retire the remaining of her neko years peacefully chasing butterflies. ^^

The neko’s beady eyes implore you to put more coins in!!

Of course, you can get your coin back by unscrewing the bottom cover. Churuya-san wonders if there are any smoked cheese stashed inside. =P

And here’s a closer look at the front of the coin bank and the side.

Last but not least, here’s a short youtube video of the coin bank in action.