Transcription
On this abandoned island live only three people and dozens of cats. There isn't a single shop, not a single restaurant, and the only way to get there is by boat, which could cancel at any moment and leave you stranded with very little to survive on. Its appearance is strangely beautiful, as eerie as it is fascinating, since its population has been dying off and no one new intends to move in. In this video, we will learn about its history, coexist with its feline inhabitants, and try to talk to at least one of its three survivors. Join me on this remote adventure. We are in a small town in southern Japan called Naga, and our plan for the day is to go to an abandoned island where supposedly fewer than five people and possibly around 100 cats live. This is one of the many famous cat islands in this territory that, for various historical, economic, and fateful reasons, have become uninhabited, and indeed, more cats than people inhabit them. This island is called Aoshima, which would literally translate to "blue island," and honestly, I thought it was going to be a little more touristy. In fact, we arrived quite early, as there are only two ferries a day with a capacity of 34 passengers, so I said, "I'm not going to risk not getting a seat on that boat." We're going to arrive an hour before its departure. And oh, what a surprise, we are the only ones here, really, no, there's no one else. And it makes me laugh that they are so strict with ticket times. I mean, we are the only ones, okay? We are the only ones here. I just spoke with the ferry conductor and I said, "Hey, what's up? We're going to the island, we want tickets." And he says, "No, no, ticket sales start in 10 minutes." And I said, "Well, okay, my friend." The schedules are over here. Look, it leaves at 8 in the morning. Okay, 8:35 we arrive, a little over half an hour. Then that same ferry returns, okay? It arrives here 10 minutes later at 9:20, and then another one leaves from here. 2:30 in the afternoon it arrives at 3, and on the way back, this is the one we are going to take, from 4:15 in the afternoon to 4:50. This also explains a bit why there isn't much tourism. Let's see, it's quite funny that you arrive at 8:35, and that same ferry leaves 10 minutes later. So, you have two options. Either you tour for 10 minutes, which, well, what is that? Who's going to tour for 10 minutes? Or you stay for 8 hours, 8 hours on that island that has no restaurant, no little shop, no drink vending machine. What are we going to do? I mean, we're going to be there for 8 hours, just chilling. So yes, look, I think there's an explanation for why not many tourists go. By the way, what do you think of how I'm dressed for the occasion? Check this out, huh! Phew! I brought the formal wear. Okay. I brought the cat shirt. Well, I said, if we're going to the cat island, we have to dress the part, right? Aricita, Camari is in charge of the camera here. Look at that, huh. She's also dressed in uniform. What a beauty, huh. Oh, and your earring too. Ah, yes. Also see the earring is the cat bus. Another little cat here, bracelet. And look, another tourist has just arrived, good old Clemon from France. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. I think it's just the three of us. Just three. Yes, just three. Okay. Well, we're ready to depart. Each ticket cost us 10,000 yen, which is a little less than $10. And a fun fact, okay, a fun fact, I'm allergic to cats, and very allergic, mind you. I mean, really, if I go to my friend's house, who has cats, I start with my asthma, my eyes get like this, touching a cat for me is a mortal challenge. So, well, it will have to be from a distance. We're bringing a bit of medicine like loratadine and stuff just in case, but hey, this is going to be an adventure. Okay, indeed, on this channel, we always say from time immemorial, welcome to another adventure. And indeed, welcome to another adventure. Well, let's go to Aoshima, the abandoned island with more cats than humans. Normally I would say "let's go," but we're in Japan, so I'll say "ikimasu." And yes, exactly, literally we are three, huh. I mean, there are no more. Look at all these empty seats. Yes, yes, yes. No one, no one is coming but the two of us and our very kind French friend we met. Yes, three brothers, huh, like that, three, three pals with nothing else to do today. The boat is fine, huh. It even has its bathroom and all that. They show you your safety video, which, well, no one is paying attention to. It has its comfortable seats. And here the captain scolded me earlier because I went in to take a video of the cabin where the captain drives. Holo Borgo, the brother ran off. Eh, no, no, no, normal, normal. That's very normal to happen to you in Japan when you're a foreigner. Eh, we are inconvenient. Our presence is inconvenient in these kinds of small towns. We've arrived at the island now. Wow, how crazy. Ma arigato arigato. Look, it's funny that as soon as you arrive, the little cats are already here waiting for you. It's like the pals already know, right? I mean, they know people are coming and that they'll bring them little things and food and stuff. By the way, it's important to bring them food because, well, as you're seeing, there's no tourism here anymore, there's nothing. So, if you can bring them food from the mainland, the better for them, the better for everyone. And food scraps can be left here, okay? In fact, that's the only thing you can leave on the island. They are very strict about that. There are signs that say, "Dude, take all your trash with you, I mean, everything you brought, you take it from here. They don't have a trash collection system here. They have nothing here." So, the only thing you can literally leave here are cat food scraps or toys you bring them or something like that. Look, we brought a little bag of dry food in our backpacks. Oh, my brother, he's already craving it, look, he's already like, "Take it out, pal, take it out." And look at this. This is going to be a hit with my pals. Look, we brought them these things that are like liquid food, really tasty. And this, I think, will be their favorite. Look at this. Look at this, look at this. Little fish. Ooh, my brother already knows what's coming. He knows, he knows. Phew! Of course, brother. Oh, look. Poor thing, it looks like it has a blow to the face, the poor thing, right? Oh, no, my king. Poor thing. Well, come on. Ah, this pal, this brother knows. Look. Okay, little ones, from a distance, because I'm mortally allergic. Okay. From this distance, it's beautiful. It's very sad because, honestly, I love cats, I mean, they are super beautiful. I want to pet them, I want to rub them on my face, I want to lie down with them, use them as a pillow. I mean, they are super precious, I want to give them affection, really. I would love to be friends with cats. They are super cute animals, and I would even like to have a cat because they are quite independent and all that, right? But well, well, no, the allergy I have doesn't allow it. So, let's explore, right? There's a map here of what's on the island. It's cool. Look, from what we're seeing, there are three temples. That's very interesting. There's like a tower, like a viewpoint, something like that. And here, it made me laugh. Look, they put the ferry, right? Here, here's the boat. And the captain is very happy, right? Very happy. Uh, this clearly wasn't ours, huh, clearly wasn't ours. Our captain was angry, the pal was, he was annoyed. I mean, I tried to strike up a conversation, right? Like, "Captain, good morning. Um, and what is there to do on the island? And what is the island like?" And the man, nothing, just angry, annoyed. So, clearly this smiling and happy brother wasn't ours, who was, well, very grumpy. So, yes, look, let's take a walk and see what we find and all that. And check out a lady earlier who, let's see if we run into her again, told us that food scraps can be left here. Uh, there's like a small house here. It is, in fact, this is, I think, the only tourist infrastructure there is. Check it out, it's this little house where, well, there are these seats where you can wait for the ferry, right? And all that. This is where you leave the scraps. So, look here. Oops, there are none anymore. No, well, we have to leave our scraps here now. There are none anymore, dude. It's just that, well, no one comes. No one comes at all, at all around here. Look, toys. That's cool. Here are toys for, well, for you to entertain yourself with the cats, for you to, well, be interacting and all that. This one here is for donations, which, well, seriously, people donate in yen. Look at this. I mean, what do you do with one yen in this economy? There's only coins here, right? We're going to leave them some money, honestly, because, well, look, let's leave, what? 6,000 yen, right? Well, yes, for the burger. We'll leave some money there. Yes, for the cats. And as a thank you for leaving money, they let you take a little card, a souvenir postcard. Everything is cool. Okay, it's cute. Look, we're going to take some for friends, right? A couple, does that sound good? Look how beautiful these postcards are. We're going to take them as souvenirs. Wow, this sign that says, "A cat may enter, your luggage will be vandalized" makes me laugh. And look at the tremendous one, a criminal. Basically, so you don't leave your bags here. It's a subtle way of telling you, like, if you leave your backpack here, a cat will snatch it. Well, let's go, now let's give a little context, let's talk a little about the history of this place, because that's why only three inhabitants remain, why there are so many cats, and why everything is abandoned. Well, we should know that this island had its peak around the 40s, the 50s. It is said that at its peak, nearly 900 people lived here. I mean, it wasn't a big city, but it was a populated town, there was a community. This was a fishing village and it had a good economic boom. They had their little school, they had their shops, many temples, many houses, as we are seeing. And since it was a fishing island, with economic activity, boats were constantly coming and going, and consequently, they brought many rats. So, rodent plagues started to spread everywhere. That's why the population said, "You know what? Let's bring cats to eat the little mice and eradicate this problem." That's where the number of felines began to grow. Eventually, the 60s and 70s arrived, and there was an economic boom on the mainland, in the cities of Japan. So, young people saw on television, saw in magazines and said, "Wow, I want to be an office worker, I want to be an engineer, I want to be in the big cities, I don't want to be a fisherman on a small island." What is known as the rural exodus began, and many people started to leave, all the young people started to leave little by little. So, it began to empty, and that's why today, as I tell you, only three people remain, three inhabitants, all of them elderly, senior adults. The maximum number of cats is said to have been over 300, although note, this comes with a big asterisk, this is information from the internet, there are many versions. There was never a real census. But in 2018, the authorities realized that this was already a problem, that there were no longer people to care for the cats. These cats don't know how to hunt, rather they have become accustomed to receiving food. It also happened a lot that the kittens would reproduce among family, and this led to kittens being born with problems, then they would get sick, and you couldn't care for them anymore. So, in 2018, a sterilization campaign began. That's also why we see that some kittens have their ear cut off. Those are supposed to be some of those that have been sterilized because, well, the plan is basically to end the cat population, not to kill them, but, well, so they don't keep reproducing, and that's why today there are few left. Let's see, internet data says there are 120, 100, 90, but we haven't seen that many, honestly. Maybe, what do you like, 30 we've seen, 20. Maybe as we walk, we'll see more. But yes, think about it, this island is doomed to disappear. A town, not a ghost town, exactly, but almost, in about 20 years, maybe 15 years, it will be completely abandoned. Ah, look, I see a man there in his boat. He's like a fisherman. Let's see if with my 4-peso Japanese we can strike up a conversation. Let's see if we can get information from the real source, the direct source. Fisherman. Okay. Okay. Combini. Listen, the man is really cool, really nice, honestly. Very talkative, very cool. And yes, look, indeed, three people. Yes, yes, that's what it is. No internet source, no census from a few years ago. The direct source. Three people live here, no more. Hol, Borgo, how tough, right? And yes, he told me that his family lives in Matsuyama and that when he needs to buy things and, well, food and stuff, he goes there, buys things, and brings them back, and that it's basically him, his wife, and someone else. I imagine it must be nice because of the calm, but yes, lonely on many occasions. Maybe that's why he's so talkative, because, well, he needs to talk to people from the world. Oy, here we find more little cats. Look at this. Where were these hidden? Uh, where were my pals? They've already gathered. There are quite a few here, which is interesting because of what we've read from other people who have come and watched videos and all that. It is said that there is a hierarchy system here, that the stronger, more aggressive cats get to be at the entrance where tourists arrive because they get more and fresher food, but then the weaker or shyer ones will be further back, some weaker ones will be further up the mountain. So, yes, like in everything, right? It's a power system, right? Maybe that's why the ones we saw there looked a bit beaten up, because they are the most aggressive, they have earned their place there to have fresh, abundant food from the few tourists who come. Check it out, this is the main temple on the island. In fact, what it says here is Aoshima Jinja, meaning the temple of the gods of the blue island of Aoshima. Let's go in, right? How beautiful, how beautiful. With all due permission, with all due respect, we pass here. Okay, it's very nice. In small towns, you will always see these types of temples, which are Shinto, okay? And well, let's take advantage of being here to, as a sign of respect, right? Thank the deities here. We wake up the deity. A small offering is made, a clap. Ah, the little cat said, "Is it for me?" No, pal, that's not for you. A bow is made. Ah, a clap. Ah, thank you for allowing us to enjoy this island, talking with one of the inhabitants, absorbing what this beautiful place once was. Thank you. That's nice, honestly. Look, I'm honestly not a religious person or anything, but I like religions, and I like to learn, and I like to respect them. Respect them. It's nice to learn about them. Hello. Yes, it's like a horror movie walking around here, but honestly, like a video game, Silent Hill, Centralia, the city we visited in the United States, falls short. The houses are standing, but they haven't received maintenance in decades, and it's evident. Many of the inhabitants have simply opted to lock them with padlocks to prevent anyone from entering. Even, look, I liked that this brother put a magnifying glass here: "Do not enter." Because, yes, I imagine that some curious person says, "Oh, let's see what's in there." In some, the window is open, so you can peek in more or less. There, for example, we saw a picture earlier. How do these houses look inside? Let's see if we see one that's half broken with the doors partially open to take a look. Wow, how about this house? It has completely collapsed. Just from the passage of time, huh. It doesn't look like it was torn down, rather it fell. We can see a bit of the kitchen there still, man. Oh, look at this other one. Let's see, I don't know if you can see it. It's kind of sideways. I don't know if it shows up on camera, but it's kind of sideways, right? Like it's already like this, like it's already falling, like it's bowing, right? Here, asking for forgiveness. I loved this little shelter here for the cats. I bet the man we talked to built it. Ah, it's cool. They are warm here. Ah, this brother, this pal has been following us all day. Poor thing, he looks quite sick, the poor thing. And yes, they are warm here, right? With their blankets, with their little quilts. They're chilling, chilling. This red sign here says "tobacco." So, this was a, well, it was a little shop before, a cigarette shop. And yes, we see through the glass a little bit of what can be seen, that there are still products. I mean, that's surreal, that most of the houses have furniture, have pictures, like they didn't plan their move, but rather said, "Ah, let's go for a while." And then they liked it, or the owner died, and those who inherited the house didn't care anymore. Yes, it's like most of the belongings are still inside the houses. What beauty of Sakuras! Look how beautiful and pink they are. Wow. It's impactful. I don't feel like I'm inside a movie. This is beautiful, like inside a Studio Ghibli movie, something like that. It's very nice, really, very nice. And look, now that we're recording, the Sakura season is ending, but here they are, so pink, beautiful. And how the petals fall like in slow motion, right? Man, a poem. Ooh, look at this. A lot of caterpillars have gathered right here. These, I think, will eventually become butterflies, right? They are part of the process. And how beautiful it is that the whole ground is painted pink by the flowers, right? It's beautiful. Something that I find fascinating is to see how in a village of three inhabitants they have electricity that works, clean water in the taps, a post office, and even an updated air rescue notice. This tells us a lot about Japanese infrastructure, right? That if one person lives in a small town, the authorities say, "No, no, no. We will provide them with basic necessities. They must have electricity, they must have clean water, they must have mail, communication." And that air rescue announcement is from April, so it's from this month. And basically, what it says is that if medical attention is needed and it's raining, the ferry cannot arrive or is too delayed, they can send a helicopter for you. No, man, that's great. In how many territories around the world does it not happen that in towns of hundreds, even thousands of inhabitants, people do not have access to water, do not have access to electricity? There's no signal at all. And here, really, in this small town of three people, and yes, if you're wondering, full signal too. Right now, to verify a data point or two, I have internet without any problem. And quickly, I'll take the opportunity to mention that I'm staying connected on this trip, as on all others, using the excellent Holafly service. Holafly, I've told you many times on the channel. Thanks once again for sponsoring our content. It's this excellent service that provides internet in many destinations around the world. More than 200, even. They offer unlimited data packages at more than competitive prices. On the app or on the website, you just choose how many days you're traveling, for which region, and it works with an eSIM, which means it's super easy to install. You don't have to go to an office, stand in line, give your ID, answer 1000 questions. No, no, no. Easy, in a matter of minutes. We have a discount code for channel users. 5% off on every purchase and recharge. I'll leave all the information and links for you to click on below in the description. Thanks, Holafly, for sponsoring our content once again. It's appreciated from the heart. And come on, let's continue exploring. And we've arrived. Okay. Yes, it's this one here. We've arrived at the school, the old school on the island. Of course, it's this one. Wow. Here we have several tombstones, these belonging to Buddhism, Shinto branch, I imagine. And this was the old primary school, according to what we've more or less understood. And yes, it's big, right? Look at that, two stories. And yes, as the plants are already growing, taking over the walls. Let's take a look. This statue here is of Dr. Gideon Gucuchci when he was young. He's a very important Japanese doctor, so important that his face is even on the previous 1000 yen bill. And yes, here he is at the school as a very representative figure. This school closed in the late 70s. Some classrooms, yes, you can enter, they are in a not-so-risky state. Others, honestly, are already falling apart, so entering is a bad idea, a terrible idea. This one, for example, look, we see it's in okay condition, it doesn't look structurally very damaged. And we also see that people come here often to leave a greeting, to leave their marks. For example, look. I don't know, Adrián from Spain in 2025 came here. Ah, look, Portillo. Of course, Portillo, a fellow YouTuber, came here two years ago and left his signature too. Greetings to good old Naka, who also made a video here, good content from both. And if they leave their mark, well, we'll leave ours too, right? So, 2026, 2028, a traveler from the future. From the future. Someone came from tomorrow. Let's see, what is this here? No, uh. There it is, look, good old Luisillo was here, Aricita too. And it's crazy to see how plants are already starting to grow through the floor, really, the roots are starting to dig in. We have a little bench here, we have the globe with which people learned 50 years ago or more. This other classroom here, this one, honestly, we're not going to enter. In fact, it says clearly here, even in English, written a bit poorly. Danger, right? Danger. And yes, let's just peek through here, right? Yes, a part of the roof has already fallen. The floor is falling apart due to humidity and all that. And this was like the dining room, I think. They have a television, they have a pot, a refrigerator, some plates and cups that look in good condition. Uh, those can still be used. They even have a little stove there. This one, yes. This was like the dining room, I imagine. And yes, those plates still look in good condition, huh. In case someone around here needs dishes. No, no, that's not true. Let's leave it here. This is already historical heritage. This thing is intact there. How many decades have those plates been there? In this other classroom, we can see a book, for example, which, look, is super interesting. It's a book from 1962, which, well, flipping through it, we're seeing that more than a book, it's like the yellow pages, a directory. Well, yes, look, it has all the contacts, businesses, etc., etc., from 1962, holo borgo. Over here, like a scale model of a boat, a record player, some books. Okay. Over here, this other one is like another kitchen, like they have more kitchen utensils here. Another refrigerator. And over here is the bathroom, which, wow, it's fascinating to see. I loved how the windows are broken, but because of the plants themselves, like the plants have grown and have gone through the glass. Everything is broken by nature itself. Yes, this is another classroom, this school is not fascinating, huh. Fascinating. Let's see, we're not going to go up, we're not going to enter further because it's a bad idea, honestly. Even being here right now isn't the best idea. We're very close to the exit in case we hear a crack, we'll leave because otherwise, this looks, I mean, the structure is already very damaged. Yes, continuing to walk that way, honestly, I don't think it's a good idea. But, it's super fascinating, I love it. Do you hear that little song? That's very common in, yes, certain small towns, in certain areas, when it strikes 12 noon, that little song plays. How cool. Eerie, right? Creepy. Holo Borgo, yes, scary. But yes, no, no, no, it's nothing scary. It doesn't mean the apocalypse is starting, that the Hunger Games, the Squid Games are starting. It simply means it's 12 o'clock, and that's it. But yes, the first time I heard it, also in a remote little town, I said, "Hola, Borgos, they're coming for us. The zombies aren't coming out with machetes right now." But no, no, no. It simply means it's 12 noon. And well, 12 noon means we still have 4 hours here, and I feel like we've done everything. Surely we'll find more things to do, more things to see. Walking, we've come across something super unusual. Right in the middle of the path, look at this. A snake in the process of hunting. Are you seeing? I mean, that little thing there is like a salamander, something like that. Look, look, look, look. It's trying to escape. And the snake is grabbing it to strangle it and then eat it for dinner. And yes, the poor little salamander, look, or or I don't know if it's a lizard, who knows. It seems to have a chance to escape, huh. Like it's saying, "I'm going to escape." But the other one is holding it with its mouth and strangling it. Wow, how unusual. Oh, what a strange thing to see, huh. Truly, an unusual thing. It's a strange thing. And we almost stepped on it, I mean, we were walking like, hahaha, blah, blah, blah. And then, ah, snake. And we looked it up online and all that, and apparently it's not venomous. Besides, it's not going to pay attention to us, it's having dinner right now, it's in the process of hunting. We're hungry, honestly. So, we're sitting here to have lunch, some tuna we brought, and ah, some other things. Honestly, it's cool, it's very cool, and it's quite curious to think that at this moment on this island, whose size is showing up on your screen right now with a really cool animation, there are only six of us, I mean, six people are on this territory. Calm defined in a moment, right? It's beautiful, I mean, it's truly beautiful. Very low population density, I mean, and it's cool, honestly. It's really cool. We found this adorable spot here, honestly adorable. And, uh, as I was saying at the beginning, we take all our trash with us. We have a trash bag here and all that, we're going to take everything we brought with us. It's very good, honestly. Very cool. Yes, in case anyone is thinking of coming and says, "Ah, well, I want to go to that island all alone." And they should know that there's really nothing there, huh. But nothing. So yes, bring everything in a backpack. Enjoy your meal, enjoy your meal. Honestly, what a pleasant lunch. Enjoy! And here more? Well, we say goodbye to our friend Clem, the other Frenchman who was with us. Honestly, cool. Uh, uh, we went exploring more and saw everything. We came across a small cultivated plot where they are growing onions, it seems. And eventually, we came across a cemetery that has a running water tap and all that. Many, many tombs, really, many, many, many tombs. Most of them, honestly, are very abandoned, all covered in dirt. But there's this path that, honestly, is super well-maintained, super well-maintained. Here you can see Mr. Camimoto, Camimoto-san, who we spoke with earlier, and check this out. Knowing his name, we deduced something very interesting. Look, look. Here we find a tomb that, well, has flowers, okay? It's the only one, in fact, that has flowers. And reading the kanji, well, the only kanji we don't know are Cami and Moto. They are these two here. So, it must be a relative of the man we met on the boat, and he comes to leave his flowers and all that. Look how beautiful, how lovely. A bit of the Camimoto lineage here, of the only three survivors on the island, right? That really blows my mind. And yes, look, he comes to leave flowers here. By the way, it makes me laugh a lot that when we were talking to him, well, my Japanese is horrible, huh. So, I asked him, "What's your name?" and he said something like "furunem," and I said, "Oh, Furunem, no, Mr. Furunemu." And then Clem, who speaks better Japanese than me, told me, "No, dude, he was telling you if you wanted his full name, I mean, he was saying it in English," and I said, "Oh. Uh-huh. Furunemo. Furunemo. Furunemo-san. But no. The man's name is Cami Moto, and in the entire cemetery, by rough estimate, I think there are about 200 tombs, maybe a little less, but I think there are many, huh. It's big. The ferry has returned, the boat has returned, they didn't leave us abandoned. We were just over there, we heard a boat and we said, "They've arrived." We ran, and yes. And on this trip, more people arrived. About 10 people arrived, I'd say, about four tourists, maybe some girls who were taking photos and all that, another guy, and about five who came to work. In fact, look, we're seeing some young men, some people who are doing some repair work over there. I saw another man who was carrying a small bag, he was wearing a uniform, like blue, maybe for the electricity. And look at this other man who is coming here, who is carrying gas. Yes, he's carrying gas, like a gas cylinder. He just put it in there, refilled the gas supply, and is now leaving. Going back. How about that? It's super interesting. And honestly, I would tell you, if you want to come here to tour or whatever, to visit, it's better to come on the afternoon ferry, honestly. Because look, the afternoon one arrives around 3:05 PM and leaves at 4:15 PM, which, honestly, if you're just coming to tour and see the cats and all that, an hour is more than enough. We came to film and explore and all that, so an hour, honestly, is not enough, but if you're just coming like that, I think it's better to take the afternoon one and not be here for, well, yes, 8 hours. I'll also tell you, don't expect to see that many cats, huh. Honestly, I think there are more cats on my shirt, by the way, super epic, than on the whole island, huh. Honestly, we didn't see that many, I tell you, maybe 30 at most. And look, we walked a lot, huh. Look, we covered a lot of ground. Ah, look, see the gas man. He's coming back for more. Ah, that's good. Good work, useful work, especially because, well, the people here, if not, how are they going to cook? Of course, I hadn't thought of that. How do they cook, how do they heat their water to bathe, right? Man, that guy is a hero, huh. Truly, he's a hero. Even that service is provided to the three people who live here. I mean, more people came to work than live here. Truly, two are fixing that. Two more went over there, maybe fixing the electricity, right? They had blue uniforms, and the gas guy. No, man, it's super good. I mean, what pros, huh. Truly, no, man. No, no, they don't forget the grandparents, and that's very nice. That's beautiful to know. How crazy what the people who were working came to install. Wow. Now, asking them a little bit, and especially using a phone translator, because this is a very complicated issue, we learned that this is a sign for the mayoral elections of the city of Ozu, which is legally the city to which this island belongs. So, for the three inhabitants who live here, that blows my mind, for the three old people, grandparents who live here, they came to install a sign that says, "Don't forget to vote. Voting is very important so they know who the candidates for mayor are. There are six spaces here, okay? We can see them here where the candidates' posters will be placed. This is how it works in the neighborhoods of Japan. They put this up and put the photos of the candidates. Chuch chu chu chuch chu. And only in these official spaces can this be put up to motivate democracy and for people to vote and be informed and all that. And so, so that these three elderly people know who the candidates are and can vote, they came to put up their little sign here. Wow. No, honestly, I think that has been my favorite part of this journey, to see how the elderly are not forgotten, to see how the elderly truly matter, I mean, they come here and fix their electricity and put up their sign and make sure they have drainage and that they have water and that their mail arrives and that the alleys are, honestly, quite well paved and you can walk, and it's not, it's super good, really, so that the three elderly people have all that, they move an entire team of people to this remote island. I mean, how beautiful, how moving. Without a doubt, that has been my favorite part of this adventure. It's very cool, huh, very. I loved it, I loved it. This small structure we have here is the fire station. That's funny. For the three elderly people, they have their fire station. I mean, there aren't permanent firefighters here, of course not, but there is a group of volunteers who can come in case of a fire or something. In fact, in these small towns, there are always these stations called shōbōsho, and inside there are hoses, shovels, axes, etc. So, it's supposed that the inhabitants are given some light training, and in case of a crisis, they can enter, they have permission to enter, and well, grab things and fight until the more specialized personnel arrive. So, let's clear up the doubt. Ah. Oh, look. Yes, it is, my friend, the electricity worker, told me. By the way, he is the electricity worker. Look at that. How interesting. Yes, this is the shōbōsho, the fire station, in case something happens. Well, we're leaving here. We're leaving Aoshima, one of the cat islands in Japan. Look, I liked it. I loved this adventure. I loved being able to come here, get to know it, talk a little, know that the elderly people who live here are not forgotten, and to be able to witness this, which is a town with an expiration date. This town could be disappearing in a few years, and I loved being able to see it before that happened. What do you think? What did you think? Would you dare to come to a place like this? Put it down here in the comments. Thank you very much for accompanying me on another adventure, and we'll see you, as always, you know, in a few days with a new video.