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