

Globe-trotting wildlife photographer and filmmaker, Iwago Mitsuaki, offers the best of a vast collection of cat footage he took in Japan. On this unique trip around the country, discover the lesser-known charms and customs of regions through the eyes of cats!
NHK WORLD-JAPAN
75
5 min

Kyoto Prefecture offers amazing seasonal views. Visit different temples to enjoy autumn colors on a morning walk with a black cat and his beloved priest, see a rare calico cat, and watch an avid tree climber!
Feb 11, 2022

Mt. Iwaki in Aomori Prefecture overlooks an apple orchard where 5 kitties are born in spring. By summer, they've grown big and strong! Pay them a visit and attend the area's special summer festival!
Feb 23, 2022

Tokyo is home to many lucky cats called Maneki-neko! Get your kitty fix at a public bath, a lantern shop and a classical theater. Then, meet them after hours in Shinjuku's Golden Gai bar district!
Apr 10, 2022

At the foot of the sacred Mt. Fuji, have breakfast with dairy farm kitties, fish with hungry kitties at a port, and dance at a unique summer festival held by a temple dedicated to cats.
Apr 17, 2022

A sacred island with an emerald sea and tropical trees is pure kitty heaven. Scale a wall with rare white kitties, and relax to the sounds of traditional Okinawan music with a black kitty.
Apr 24, 2022

Snow piles up in winter along the Sea of Japan. Visit a morning seafood market, play in the snow, admire traditional lacquerware, and enjoy warm mochi rice cake with cute kitties.
May 1, 2022

Visit the Sanuki region to try a local delicacy loved by cats. Watch a kitty's owner make traditional roof tiles, and stroll around a famous shrine with another kitty.
May 8, 2022

Visit the city known for its giant Buddha statue to watch a kitty play in the Meigetsu-in Temple garden, then have a nap with kittens on a priest's cushion at another temple along a train line.
May 15, 2022

Along Japan's famous, clear river, cute kitties are living their best lives. Join 1 kitty on a unique bridge leading to his canoe shop, and take in a lovely sunset with the other cuties.
May 22, 2022

Visit Japan's popular summer getaway to join a church kitty on his morning stroll through the woods, watch a kitty help make souvenir candles, and play with another in a guest house garden.
May 29, 2022

On a pilgrimage down sacred trails, follow a kitty through a majestic forest. Meet a hunting master at a 1,300-year-old temple, and wait patiently for homemade bread at a seaside café.
Jun 5, 2022

Near Aizu's symbolic Tsuruga Castle, visit a kitty at an old post station, and feast with another at a quaint Aizu lacquerware shop. One more kitty awaits your offering at a 1,400-year-old temple.
Jun 12, 2022

Active volcanos bless Kagoshima Prefecture with natural hot springs. Visit a boss cat near an "ashiyu" foot bath, help kitties guard a brewery, and relax with a bath house kitty.
Jun 19, 2022

A black kitty sits at a picturesque spot near the beach. Two other kitties are busy greeting people at an old train station, but they always find time to play with the station staff.
Jun 26, 2022

Head to the famous Todai-ji Temple before visiting a nun's kitty at the 1,300-year-old Chugu-ji Temple. Visit a Japanese washi paper factory and a plum tree grove for more kitty fun.
Jul 3, 2022

Kitties enjoy a Western atmosphere in a port town that's prospered for centuries. Meanwhile, mommies are busy raising rambunctious kittens while another kitty gets spoiled by sea urchin fishers.
Jul 10, 2022

A famous pottery town makes cat figurines, but there are real kitties too! Head to Nagoya to visit a coffee shop kitty, then to a mountain town to check out traditional dolls with another cat.
Jul 24, 2022

Take in a view of "the Mt. Fuji of Iwate" with a farmer and her kitty, and visit an egg-loving mamma cat that's busy raising kittens in a repurposed traditional home.
Jul 31, 2022

Meet kitties in an alleyway in hilly Nagasaki, see a white kitty relax and hunt around Peace Park, and enjoy kitty heaven at Unzen Jigoku hot springs before noisy humans arrive.
Aug 7, 2022

See the famous Sleeping Cat carving at Tosho-gu Shrine. A painter's kitty has a special talent! Watch a scaredy cat creep around at another lovely shrine.
Aug 14, 2022

A unique trip around the country of Japan with photographer and filmmaker Iwago Mitsuaki, discovering the uncharted charms and customs of regions, all seen through the eyes of cats.
Aug 21, 2022

On this unique trip around Japan, discover the lesser-known charms and customs of regions through the eyes of cats! Filmed by wildlife photographe,Iwago Mitsuaki.
Aug 28, 2022

Visit kitties and their favorite spots. Relax in an old hot spring tied to a folk character, hide in a limestone cave formed by volcanic activity, and take in the natural surroundings on a plateau.
Oct 9, 2022

Kitties in Ibaraki Prefecture know how to have fun. Admire incoming paragliders with one, meet another that's unfazed by swinging golf clubs, and play ball with a territorial kitty.
Oct 16, 2022

Self