Tourist Attraction in Tokyo:
Hachiko

Hachiko, known in Japanese as a faithful dog Hachiko was a dog of the akita breed, hitherto remembered for his loyalty to the owner, and which lasted even after his death. In 1924, Hachiko was brought to Tokyo by its owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the department of agriculture at the University of Tokyo. Professor Ueno, who has always been a dog lover, named him Hachi (Hachiko is the diminutive of Hachi) and filled him with love and affection. Hachiko followed Ueno from the doorway to the not-distant Shibuya train station, returning to meet him at the end of the day. The vision of the two, who arrived in the station in the morning and returned home together in the evening, deeply impressed all passersby. The routine continued until May of the following year, when one afternoon the teacher did not return on his usual train as usual. Hachiko's happy life as the pet of Ueno was interrupted only a year and four months later. Ueno had suffered a stroke at university that day, never returning to the station where Hachiko had always expected him to. On May 21, 1925, Professor Ueno suffered a sudden stroke during a faculty meeting and died. The story goes that on the night of the funeral, Hachiko, who was in the garden, broke the glass doors of the house and made his way to the room where the body was placed and spent the night lying next to his master, if you leave. When it came time to put several objects particularly loved by the deceased in the coffin with his body, Hachiko jumped into the coffin and tried to resist any attempt to remove it. After his owner died, Hachiko was sent to live with relatives of Professor Ueno, who lived in Asakusa, east of Tokyo. But he fled several times and returned to the house in Shibuya, and when a year went by and he had not yet become accustomed to his new home, he was given to Professor Ueno's former gardener who had known Hachi since he was a pup But Hachiko ran away from that house several times as well. Upon realizing that his former master no longer lived in the house in Shibuya, Hachiko went to Shibuya station every day, just as he always did, and waited for him to return home. Every day he went and looked for Professor Ueno among the passengers, leaving only when the hunger pangs forced him. And he did it day after day, year after year, among the hurried passengers. Hachiko waited for the return of his owner and friend. The permanent figure of the dog waiting for its owner attracted the attention of some passers-by. Many of them, attendees of the Shibuya station, had already seen Hachiko and Professor Ueno coming and going daily in the past. Realizing that the dog waited in vain for the return of his master, they were touched and then came to bring food and snacks to relieve his vigil. For ten continuous years Hachiko appeared at the end of the afternoon, precisely at the time of landing the train at the station, in the hope of meeting up with its owner. On April 21, 1934, a bronze statue of Hachiko, carved by the renowned sculptor Tern Ando, ​​was erected in front of the Shibuya station ticket gate, with a poem engraved on a poster entitled "Lines for a loyal dog." The opening ceremony was a great occasion, with the participation of Professor Ueno's grandson and a crowd of people. Across the country Hachi's fame spread and Akita fame grew. March 8, 2015 marks the 80th anniversary of Hachiko's departure, and to honor him, students at the Tokyo University School of Agriculture have staged a statue representing their reunion. The resources for the production of the statue were obtained by donations.

Attractions in Tokyo