Tama, the popular mascot cat at a train station in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, got her first "station staff" Thursday in a ceremony attended by local residents and tourists.
Tama, the appointed "Station Manager" of Kishi Station on the Kishikawa Line, has lived at the station for five years and is hugely popular with tourists.
But as she is getting on in years, the railway brought in a youngster named Nitama to help out.
About 100 tourists attended Thursday's ceremony to see the famous feline and her likely successor.
Tama become popular because she kept watching passengers at the station, often sitting on top of a ticket gate as if she was checking their tickets.