Meet Mikan 蜜柑, Kaohsiung’s cutest station cat. Mikan has a huge social following, their own range of cute kitty merchandise and makes regular appearances at Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station on the Kaohsiung Metro KRTC.
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A stray Taiwanese cat adopted by Kaohsiung station staff, Mikan the cat’s fanbase is growing all the time and hundreds flock to the station every time they appear and make a ‘purr-sonal’ appearance (often in costume). The station is even cat-themed, plus a bakery next door sells cat shaped steamed buns.
Recently, the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation signed a major Mikan merchandising and branding deal which is set to cat-apult (sorry) Mikan to global stardom, making Mikan big in Japan!
We recently went to one of Mikan’s regular in-person…we mean in-cat appearances, and also visited the popular Mikan Cat gift-shop at Zuoying station. Mikan celebrated their 5th birthday in 2025 so there were anniversary events and parties across Kaohsiung.
From what you can buy (including Mikan jam) to how to find out about her appearances, here is our guide to Mikan 蜜柑, Kaohsiung’s station cat with her own feline fan-base.
This article was originally published on 8 March 2025.
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Who is Mikan the cat 蜜柑?
Kaohsiung’s cutest ‘working’ cat, Mikan was a stray Kaohsiung kitty who was born on 4 April 2020, found and adopted by the staff at Ciaotou Sugar Refinery KRTC Station. We include Mikan in our famous Taiwan cats and cat cafes article >
Mikan became a regular fixture at the station and became an Honorary Station Mister Cat.
Videos of Mikan exploring Kaohsiung’s stations and wearing cat costumes then become viral.
KRTC Mikan now has over 230,000 Instagram followers (more than our Taiwanderers Instagram that is for sure!) and pops up everywhere, from gorgeous gifts to gachapon toys, t-shirts to trams (yes, Mikan has even had a Kaohsiung LRT tram branded with her likeness once) – what a star!
As she is a cute ball of ginger fluff, she was named Mikan, the Japanese phrase for an orange.
At Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station, such is Mikan’s popularity, you’ll find her paw prints on the platforms, cat-themed post boxes and items plus even a Mikan sticker machine (there are bigger Mikan gift-shops at other Kaohsiung MRT stations – more on this later).
So famous, she has even met Taiwan’s President and Kaohsiung’s Mayor – now that is one sure fine celebr-kitty!
You might like – Our guide to the world’s oldest cat cafe, Kitten Cafe in Taipei >
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Mikan’s monthly appearances and home station
As well as regular updates, photos and videos on Mikan’s official Instagram account, Mikan usually makes a once a month appearance at her adopted home, Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station MRT station in Kaohsiung.
Their monthly appearance date is listed on the bio of the KRTC Mikan 蜜柑 Instagram page. Mikan usually appears one Saturday every month (usually towards the end of the month) often between 10am and 3pm – and they often take long-cat naps during this time!
We were lucky enough to coincide a Kaohsiung visit with one of Mikan’s monthly appearances – it was amazing to see so many people had turned up to see Mikan, armed with cameras. It is a fun free activity to enjoy in Kaohsiung with kids.
No wonder Mikan chose to stay in the ticketing office the whole time, wrapped up in a Mikan branded blanket (of course)!
Mikan seemed nonplussed (or should that be nonpussed?) by all the people and spent most of their time cat-napping.
Away from the crowds, Mikan lives at the station and is generally away from the public eye, having their own quiet ‘working space’ and often being photographed for social media.
Incidentally, we recommend a visit to the old The Qiaotou Sugar Factory near Mikan’s MRT station.
Opened in 1901 and ceased production in 1999, you can freely wander around the grounds and former works. It is now a historical park with lots to see including coi carp ponds, old railway carriages & interesting galleries & museums (all free to visit).
There is even a delicious steamed bun stall 橋頭太成肉包 糖廠店 (next to the Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station MRT station) that sells cat shaped buns and treats! Find it here on Google Maps >
Mikan merchandise / gift shop
Cute Kawaii merchandise is nothing new and unsurprisingly, Mikan the Cat 蜜柑 has a huge range of cartoon themed merchandise; some of the gifts feature photos whilst other products have a cartoon version of Mikan.
We are the proud owners of several Mikan merchandise items include a Mikan Gaji / Taiwan bag, a Mikan plush (which we bought at KW2 Kaohsiung) plus a model of the Mikan Kaohsiung Circular Light Rail which we found at a train gift shop in Fenqihu.
We finally made the ‘pilgrimage’ to the Mikan gift shop in early 2025 to get our ‘paws’ on some souvenirs. Amazingly, it was one of the busiest gift shops we’ve seen in Taiwan so Mikan must have lots of fans.
There is a massive range of Mikan merchandise to buy, with over 100 branded souvenirs to choose from. The main Mikan gift-shop is at Zuoying MRT station (just below Kaohsiung’s Zuoying HSR station).
We spotted everything from gachapon toys to jars of jam, back-scratchers to bags! Maybe they should launch a Mikan suitcase so you buy more and bring it home easily?
There is also a second Kaohsiung KRTC gift-shop with Mikan merchandise immediately next to the famous Dome of Light installation at Formosa Boulevard MRT. If you are in Kaohsiung for a few days, we’d also recommend adding the Dome of Light to your Kaohsiung itinerary.
Check the opening times and locations of both KRTC / Mikan gift shops here >
Mikan goes global
Mikan is very much a cash-cow…sorry…cash-cat for Kaohsiung and in 2024, the Mikan gift shop alone sold over NT$10 million of gifts and souvenirs.
90% of Mikan’s fan-base is from Taiwan but an increasing amount of tourists from overseas have been visiting Mikan and her gift shop (especially from Japan and Hong Kong).
Mikan’s and KRTC recently signed (pawed?) a new branding deal which will see more Mikan products launched in Taiwan plus in Japan. Maybe Mikan will visit the Land of the Rising Sun soon? We hope to see Mikan 蜜柑 t-shirts in NET Taiwan too!
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Other Kaohsiung station cats
Mikan isn’t the only ‘working’ station cat in Kaohsiung. In 2025, New Zuoying HSR station in Kaohsiung unveiled a new cat play area home to three stray cats that have been adopted by station staff.
The cats, including Shrimal the black cat have their own play area at the First North Entrance, just meters away from the main concourse at New Zuoying Station (which is also from where the Taiwan Sanrio Train departs in Kaohsiung).
Travellers can watch the cats at play from behind a cordon – when we visited, all three cats were having a fun time, with several of the station staff entertaining them with toys.
Read our guide to the Zuoying Station cats in Kaohsiung here >
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