Great Dogs: Hachiko

Hachiko, an Akita, visited the Shibuya train station in Tokyo every day to meet his master, Professor Eisaburo Ueno. When Ueno died in 1925, Hachiko continued to visit the station, waiting for his master’s return (and to visit, no doubt, many of the friends he had made at Shibuya Station, including the station master, who set aside a special storeroom in which Hachiko would rest.)

To commemorate Hachiko’s loyalty a bronze statue was erected in front of the station in 1934. The statue was recycled during the war, but a recreation was put in place just a few short years after the war was over.

If you visit Tokyo today, you may be asked to meet someone at “Shibuya Hackikoguchi,” the Hachiko exit that leads to the comfortable courtyard. Hachiko presides over the chattering throngs, still immune to distraction, standing faithfully while the video billboards and garish lights splattered all over the tall buildings that have grown in a steel hedge around the crossroads at Shibuya Station.

A great write-up about Hachiko [Wikipedia]