---
title: Neko no Hosomichi (the Cat Alley)
url: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/notes/neko-no-hosomichi/
lang: en
journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/onomichi-1/
---

# Neko no Hosomichi (the Cat Alley)

A little of each town’s story　/　Onomichi, Hiroshima

A narrow lane of about 200 meters starting beside the three-story pagoda of Tennei-ji. Since 1998, fukuishi-neko, round stones painted with cats by the artist Sonoyama Shunji, have been placed along it, which is how it got its name. Hideaway shops and small museums in restored empty houses dot the way. It is about a three-minute walk from the lower station of the Senkoji Ropeway.

## This moment in the journey: The cat alley

A black-and-white cat watched me from beside a flowerpot. This is Neko no Hosomichi, the cat alley, a back lane full of playful cat art. Cat tiles and paintings cover the walls, and a sign reading "Sacred ground of the fortune stone cats" stands among the trees.

The narrow lane runs about 200 meters from beside the three-story pagoda of Tennei-ji. Since 1998, round stones painted with cats, the fukuishi-neko, have been placed along it. I passed beneath a mural of a clock and walked on.

![An alley wall decorated with cat tiles and paintings](https://karigurashijourney.com/img/onomichi-1/s70-1200.jpg)
- Sources: https://www.ononavi.jp/sightseeing/showplace/detail.html?detail_id=732
- Sources: https://tabi-mag.jp/hm0449/

Read this scene in the full journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/onomichi-1/