From Cat Island to a Shiba Inu Airbnb: My Animal-Themed Road Trip Through Western Japan (Days 5-7)

In May 2026, I did an animal-themed road trip in the Chugoku region.

On Day 5 of the road trip (Day 1-4 of the road trip can be found here: link), we visited Ainoshima（相島）near Fukuoka city（福岡市）. 

Ainoshima is one of several cat islands in Japan. Other cat islands include Aoshima (Ehime prefecture), Tashirojima (Miyagi prefecture), Iwaishima (Yamaguchi prefecture), Hashirijima (Hiroshima prefecture), and Yushima (Kumamoto prefecture). We chose Ainoshima because it is more touristy, hence better equipped. We wanted to rent a bicycle and cycle around the island. Unfortunately, the bicycle rental shop was closed that day. (In rural areas, "不定休" is the norm, and the default is for shops to be closed rather than open :P) So our legs could not take us that far from the port, and we saw around 20 cats altogether, less than expected. Spent half a day there before taking the 20-minutes ferry back to Shingu port. 

We drove 2 hours to KKR Yamaguchi Asakura in Yamaguchi city（山口市）. One night's stay was around 14,000 yen per person inclusive of 2 meals. Although not outstanding, everything was pretty good considering the price, particularly the onsen. 

On Day 6, we drove 2 hours to Hiroshima city（広島市）, where we spent half the day shopping. I wanted to check out the new malls at JR Hiroshima station. The area has become much more crowded and bustling since my last visit several years ago. 

We then drove 2 hours to Kurashiki city（倉敷市）in Okayama prefecture（岡山県）. It's my second visit to the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, a preserved canal area dating back to the Edo period, also known as "the Venice of Japan". It has become much more crowded with foreign tourists. We skipped the museums this time and just checked out the shops and restaurants. 

There is an outlet mall at the other side of Kurashiki station, which we did not visit since we were visiting the Rinku Premium Outlet near Kansai Airport at the end of the trip. 

On Day 7, we drove less than an hour to Okayama station where we shopped and dined at the malls nearby, then drove for 1+ hour to Himeji Castle（姫路城）. It is the largest and best-preserved original samurai castle. Entry fee has surged 150% to 2500 yen this year! I suppose we can treat it as donation for the extensive renovation and maintenance.

We returned the rental car in the late afternoon. Total cost was around 113,800 yen, consisting of 7-day rental with JR Rent-a-car (78,800 yen), toll fees (20,000 yen), petrol (10,000 yen, hybrid car), parking (less than 5000 yen). We had signed up for the Sanin-Setouchi-Shikoku Expressway pass at 14,700 yen,  which did not make much of a difference due to the price hike in recent years. Also, the toll fee between Honshu and Kyushu which was not covered by the pass was an additional 4000+ yen. 

On a separate day, we visited Cat Cafe Mocha in Shinsaibashi（心斎橋）, Osaka. On the weekends, it costs around 1500 yen for 30 minutes. The cats are adorable and disciplined. It is better to visit at the start or end of the day to catch the feeding times (11am and 7pm) and to avoid crowds.