In 2009, the shopping street association asked Tokyo University of the Arts for "a symbol like the ones you see in European towns," and students carved seven wooden cats. They're tucked around the street in different spots — on a tempura shop's roof, by a tea shop's entrance, on a liquor store's roof, in front of a coffee shop — each with its own size, expression, and pose. The street itself, about 170m long, starts at the bottom of the 36-step "Yuyake Dandan" staircase from Nippori Station's west exit, so it's worth taking in the view from the top of the stairs before heading down to hunt for the cats.
