The calico prances and dozes on a 26-by-62-foot LED billboard in Tokyo. It has drawn crowds in real life and sparked joy on social media. Ryoko Kikuch

A Digital Cat Is Melting Hearts (and Napping a Lot) in Japan

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2021-07-08 19:00:16

The calico prances and dozes on a 26-by-62-foot LED billboard in Tokyo. It has drawn crowds in real life and sparked joy on social media.

Ryoko Kikuchi was strolling home from a Tokyo movie theater when she saw a cat the size of a yacht strutting high above the sidewalk, coyly licking its paws.

A lot of people in Tokyo feel the same way, no matter that the cat is just a bunch of pixels on a billboard. The 4K display does not officially “open” until Monday, but it has already drawn socially distanced crowds — and inspired many social media posts — since its installation last month.

タイミングが悪くて会えないことが多くてごめんなさい。実は11日までは、19時半から20時まではずっと街行く人を眺めています。 今日も雨がぱらつく中、たくさんの方がカメラを向けてくださりありがとうございました。 時間が経つと猫はだんだん眠くなってきて……最後は? pic.twitter.com/MEeLvghsPL

The digital calico behaves a bit like an actual cat, in the sense that it does whatever it pleases. Visitors are only treated to a few brief appearances per hour, in between a stream of advertisements and music videos.

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