Hachiko

Last weekend I went to Shibuya. Shibuya is another shopping district in Tokyo, but I came for something else.

There is a famous statue of a dog named "Hachiko" right outside the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station. Hachiko's story is famous in Japan.

In the early 1900's a professor at Tokyo University had a dog named Hachiko. Every morning, the dog would walk with the professor to Shibuya station. The professor took the train to work, and the dog would go home. The dog would then meet the professor at the station in the evening.

At one point, the professor suffered a stroke at work, and died. Hachiko kept showing up in the evening when the professor's train came. This continued for years afterwards.

When Hatchiko's story was published, he became famous. Loyalty is an important virtue in Japn, so a story about such a loyal dog was a hit with the public.

Here is the statue of Hachiko.































Here is a photo of Hachiko.