So if Hello Kitty never appealed to you, then neither is this station master. In a nation known for its mania over cats and anything cute, this debt ridden Japanese train company hit upon the magic solution. They promoted one of their resident tabbies named Tama to become the station master.

The 9 year old female has a loving nature and does not mind the hundreds of visitors touching or taking pictures with her daily. In fact she seems to be enjoying the added attention. Tama has been doing such a good job of raising revenue for the troubled Kishikawa train line that she was recently promoted to super-station-master. Tama is however quite particular in the manner she draws her bonus and salsrry - it all must be in Kitty feed.

People are snatching up novelty goods, postcards, erasers, notebooks and pins decorated with Tamas photos. Theres even a special 1,365 yen book of photos of Tama called, Diary of Tama, the Station Master. After Tamas appointment last year passengers have been gradually returning, recently rising 10 percent to about 2.1 million a year.

Source