Always a place for Hachiko

Hachikō's life is a tale as old as time.

The white Akita dog was born at a farm in ōdate, Akita Prefecture, Japan on 10 November 1923. Hidesaburō Ueno, an agricultural professor at the Tokyo Imperial University, adopted him.

Ueno called him Hachikō, from the word "hachi" meaning eight, a lucky number in Japanese. "Ko," a Chinese term for a prince or duke, was added later to his name.

Ueno and Hachikō moved to Shibuya, Tokyo where they fell into a peaceful routine: They would walk together to Shibuya Station as Ueno commutes to work. Hachikō would wait at the station until he was back. They would go home together.

This continued until 21 May 1925. Ueno died of a heart attack while giving a lecture in class. His remains were divided between a temple in his home in Mie Prefecture and Aoyama Reien Cemetery in Tokyo.

Ueno did not return to the train station yet Hachikō continued to wait for him.

Hachikō reportedly was given away after Ueno's death. He would hop from one home to another but kept running back to the station for nine years and nine months.

His great vigil, however, ended on 8 March 1935 after he was found dead in the streets of Shibuya. He was 11.

According to scientists, Hachikō died of filaria infection and cancer. They also ruled out claims that the cause of his death were the four yakitori skewers found in his stomach.

Hachikō was cremated. His ashes were placed next to Ueno's in Aoyama Reign Cemetery. His fur, meanwhile, was taxidermized and is now housed in the National Museum of Nature and Science.

Hachikō and Ueno's love for each other transcended generations, so much that films and statues as well as monuments of them were made all around Japan.

Their story is probably the greatest told of a man and his dog, one that I would happily recall over and over again.