About this season
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!
Episodes (24)
1. Autumn Colors in Kyoto
Aired 11 February 2022
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!
2. Tsugaru, Where Life Begins
Aired 23 February 2022 • 5 min
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!
3. Tokyo: Lucky Cats
Aired 10 April 2022 • 5 min
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!
4. Mt. Fuji: Countryside Cats
Aired 17 April 2022 • 5 min
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.
5. Okinawa/Kudaka: A Spiritual Paradise
Aired 24 April 2022 • 5 min
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.
6. Noto: A Winter Wonderland
Aired 1 May 2022 • 5 min
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.
7. Sanuki: A Kitty's Favorite Udon
Aired 8 May 2022 • 5 min
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.
8. Kamakura: An Ancient Seaside City
Aired 15 May 2022 • 5 min
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.
9. Shimanto River: A Clear Stream
Aired 22 May 2022 • 5 min
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.
10. Karuizawa: A Cool Breeze on a Plateau
Aired 29 May 2022 • 5 min
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.
11. Kumano Kodo: Pilgrimage Trails
Aired 5 June 2022 • 5 min
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.
12. Aizu: A Quaint Castle Town
Aired 12 June 2022 • 5 min
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.
13. Kagoshima: Volcano Blessings
Aired 19 June 2022 • 5 min
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.
14. Chiba: Refreshing Sea Breeze and Sunlight
Aired 26 June 2022 • 5 min
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.
15. Nara: An Ancient Capital Awaits Spring
Aired 3 July 2022 • 5 min
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.
16. Hakodate: A Hilly Port Town
Aired 10 July 2022 • 5 min
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.
17. Aichi: Lead by Beckoning Cats
Aired 24 July 2022 • 5 min
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.
18. Iwate: Traditional Country Living
Aired 31 July 2022 • 5 min
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.
19. Nagasaki: Kitties in a City of Peace
Aired 7 August 2022 • 5 min
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.
20. Nikko: Sleeping Kitty, Door Kitty
Aired 14 August 2022 • 5 min
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.
21. Yamagata: A Caring Producer
Aired 21 August 2022 • 5 min
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.
22. Fukuoka: Small Remote Islands
Aired 28 August 2022 • 5 min
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.
23. Tochigi: Kitty Guides
Aired 9 October 2022 • 5 min
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.
24. Ibaraki: Sporty Kitties
Aired 16 October 2022 • 5 min
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.