Hachikō

The bronze Hachikō statue at Shibuya Station in Tokyo is a world-famous landmark honoring the extraordinary loyalty of an Akita dog to his deceased owner. Hachikō accompanied his master, a professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo, to the station and back every day for years. After the professor's sudden death in 1925, the dog returned to the same spot every day for nine years to wait for him. This remarkable devotion became known across the country in 1932 through a newspaper article and made the previously little-known district of Shibuya famous.

Today's life-size bronze figure on a granite pedestal stands near the famous Shibuya Crossing. It is a faithful replica of the first statue, created in 1934 by the artist Andō Teru, which had to be melted down in 1944 during World War II because of a shortage of materials. The new statue was unveiled in a ceremony in 1948 and shows the dog as he looked in life, including one drooping ear. Today the spot is a popular meeting point and photo op for tourists. Every year on April 8, known as Hachikō Day, hundreds of people gather for a memorial ceremony that coincides with the cherry blossom season. The nearby station exit is also named Hachikō-guchi.