The Shibuya crossing is extremely famous and is often shown on TV as a backdrop when a story about Tokyo runs. It is estimated that about 2 -3000 people cross at once and that a total of more than 2 million people cross daily.
But I admit I've just learned the story of Hachi, the original Shiba Inu (or rather Shibu Inu) when we visited the Shibuya square yesterday (we returned today because there was so much left to explore).
People are queuing to have their picture taken with Hachi's statue in the square
Hachi (1923 - 1935) was an Akita dog 🐕 who used to walk his master, Prof. Ueno, to the Shibuya train station every morning and wait for him to return every evening. When Hachi was 3, Prof Ueno collapsed at work and died. Not knowing that his master would never return, Hachi kept coming back every day for the rest of his life, waiting faithfully for Prof. Ueno to come back from work. I confess the story squeezed a few tears from my eyes. We went into the Shibuya Scramble tower and bought an illustrated book with Hachi's story
There are several reasons why Shibuya scramble crossing sees so much traffic. It's not only a bustling business and shopping area but moreover a major public transportation hub with a big number of bus, train, and metro lines crisscrossing underground, at ground level and overground
As far as shopping is concerned, a "Don Quijote" mega store is present, which occupied my teenage daughters for several hours and made my wallet considerably thinner and lighter.
8 stories of junkets of all sorts. Fathers beware!
