The Story of Hachiko, The Loyal Dog

Just outside one of the five exits of Tokyo's Shibuya Station is a bronze statue of a dog named Hachiko. It is one of the most popular meeting points in the immense city of Tokyo. Everyday thousands of people walk past it, stand in front of it, snap a picture or chat around with friends. To understand why the statue of a dog is so famous in a city the size of Tokyo, where there is certainly no shortage of hangouts, you have to hear his story. Hachiko was a golden-brown Akita dog born in 1923 on a farm near the city of Ōdate, in Akita Prefecture. He was picked up by Professor Hidesaburo Ueno who took him home to his house not far from Shibuya Station, and he showed himself to be a good and kind master. The dog adored him. Every morning as the professor headed off to work, Hachiko would accompany his master, walking along with him as far as Shibuya Station. He would watch him buy his ticket and disappear into the station. Hachiko would then sit down in the small square in front of the station and wait for his master’s return from work in the late afternoon. The statue of Hachiko outside Tokyo's Shibuya Station. Photo credit This became a daily routine for a year until one day in May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. Unbeknown to Hachiko, his master had suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage and died, leaving Hachiko waiting, watching trains arrive and hoping for a reunion that would never happen. Each day for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days, Hachiko appeared precisely when the train was due at the station and awaited Ueno's return. The story of the dog that never gave up gained a lot of attention from local and national news, inspiring many people to visit Hachiko at Shibuya Station to offer treats. During these years he was taken care of by the professor's relatives but he never gave up the vigil at the station for his master.