Japan is a fabulous place to be for cat lovers. This is the nation that invented cat cafes, an exciting concept popular among locals and foreigners. Since Japanese people love cats, investing some time in cat-related activities may be a great way to interact with the locals. Here are four amazing activities to absorb yourself in during your travels to the Land of the Rising Sun

Offering visitors a respite from the busyness of city life, cat cafes can be readily found in Japan, especially in Tokyo. But, due to space constraints, cat cafes only allow you to play with a limited number of breeds. Here, cat museums like the Cat Museum in Shizuoka come to the rescue. The Cat Museum has an impressive 50 cats that hail from 30 species, including Siamese, Russian Blue and Egyptian Mau. You can immerse yourself in over 2000 items of cat-related memorabilia too. Cat lovers who are interested in something a tad more mythical can turn to Maneki-neko Museum in Onomichi City, Hiroshima. Get yourself pumped up by walking on a path leading to this museum that is littered with adorable kittens. Then, you will arrive at this museum, where you can see different kinds of Maneki-neko to your heart's content. Maneki-neko is said to bring businessmen good luck and fortune in business, so who knows? Your luck may just improve tremendously after your visit!

In Japan, the ladies are not afraid to wear their feelings on their sleeves...literally. Here, the sky is the limit as they showcase their love for cats in the most innovative ways. For example, many ladies like to style their hair to look like pointy cat ears while others put on sweeping eyeliner that wings up and down from the corner of their eyes, thus looking like they have cats' eyes. Others engage in nail art, investing in eye-catching nails with cat faces or paw prints. It is quite ingenious of Japanese ladies to flaunt their love for cats in such kawaii ways!

Japan celebrates its adoration for cats with a flourish because the pronunciation of February 22 in Japanese is close to "nyan nyan nyan", the sound cats make in Japan. On this day, shops demonstrate their creativity by introducing limited-edition cat-themed products to commemorate this day. From cat-shaped doughnuts and onigiri (rice balls) to fashion accessories, consumers sure have a wide spread of items to choose from to brighten up their day! The online world is equally buzzing with activity as bloggers post photos and videos of their beloved cats online. As Japan becomes inundated with cat-themed products and postings on this day, this adds festivity to your day!

Cats are so integrated into the lives of Japanese people that cat celebrities have become a phenomenon. In Kinokawa, Wakayama, a 5-year-old calico called Nitama has been the proud station master of Kishi Station since August 2015. Nitama (Tama the second) is actually the successor of Tama, the first station master which has passed on. Tama boosted the economy of the train line as locals and foreigners alike flocked to Kishi Station - an effect that Nitama is expected to perpetuate.

Apart from these 4 things, you can also visit cat islands like Aoshima where you can witness the breaktaking sight of cats prowling the land. So be sure to include these novel cat-related activities in your itinerary to make your getaway that much more interesting!