7 Crazy Destinations For Cat Lovers (PHOTOS)

Japan is the ultimate travel destination for cat enthusiasts and Hello Kitty just the beginning.
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Stephanie Harwin, who writes the cat-obsessed blog Catsparella, will go to great lengths to get her feline fix. On her quest to fulfill a lifelong dream--visiting Japan's Hello Kitty theme park--Harwin endured a bout of severe food poisoning, a language barrier, and a long journey to reach her happy place.

"You ride a boat through a world of all of the Sanrio characters, and I rode that at least three times," she enthuses. There's also a life-size replica of Hello Kitty's house and a parade each afternoon. "Hello Kitty descends from the ceiling wearing a dress covered in LED lights," Harwin says. "Going to the park really lifted my spirits."

Japan is the ultimate travel destination for cat enthusiasts and Hello Kitty just the beginning. After all, this is the country that gave us YouTube star Maru, whose antics have racked up more than 200 million views. Tokyo has become famous for its cat cafés, where you can hang out with the furry creatures, and each February brings the celebration of "Nyan Nyan Nyan Day" (a name inspired by the sound cats make).

While the Japanese have the highest per capita cat ownership in the world, there are people crazy for cats everywhere--London's Zoological Society even created a global Cat Map that allows you to plot the location of your own pet and upload its photo. All this cat love has resulted in some strangely charming places where travelers can stop to pay tribute.

Attempting to explain the hold these creatures exert on our collective consciousness, Harwin muses: "What's not to love? Cats are cute and cuddly and each has its own unique personality. I've even heard people who don't like cats joke that they enjoy watching cat videos. They're always doing something funny or cute or interesting or ridiculous, and it's so easy to assign human characteristics to them."

We think you'll agree: these vacation ideas are the cat's meow.

--Emma Sloley

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