Meet the kind Japanese grandpa who takes photos for tourists at the Hachiko statue in Shibuya

Inspiring individual makes a great impression on foreign tourists.

Shibuya’s scramble crossing is a world-famous tourist site, and those who make the journey here to cross the road and gaze up at the giant screens often make time to check out another well-known site — the Hachiko statue.

This statue, located just metres from the crossing, pays homage to Japan’s most famous loyal dog, Hachiko (1923-1935), who waited outside Shibuya Station for his owner to return home after work every day. However, one day his owner, who was a professor at a Tokyo university, died at work and never returned home, but Hachiko continued to wait for his human, appearing at the station every day until his death nearly a decade later.

Hachiko’s story of unwavering loyalty touched the hearts of locals so much that a statue was erected outside the station in his honour, and this statue continues to draw people to the site today. Now there’s another story of loyalty and kindness unfolding at the site, and it can be found at the start of this queue.

Our reporter Seiji Nakazawa came across this story when he found himself drawn to the crowd of foreigners queued up outside Hachiko.

He knew the statue was popular, but he’d never seen an orderly queue form in front of the statue, so he wanted to see what was going on.

Making his way to the front of the line, he saw the crowd was being commandeered by an elderly man, who appeared to be taking photos for all the visitors.

For years, the Hachiko statue has been a popular meeting spot, so people wanting a photo with the statue generally had to squeeze into the tight space and rub shoulders with others while trying not to get them in shot. Thanks to this orderly setup, visitors could have a photo with the famous pup all on their own, and Seiji was curious to know more about this man’s photo service.

▼ The man appeared to be wearing a staff T-shirt of some kind, suggesting this was an official setup and not a weird ploy to make money.

Seiji parked his rear on one of the metal seating ledges near the statue and spent about an hour there, scrolling through his phone while watching the scene. As he suspected, no money ever exchanged hands, so he began to wonder if the man might be employed by the city office. However, he seemed to be an “ojiisan” (a term that literally translates as “grandpa” but is also commonly used in Japan to address male strangers who are past retirement age), so Seiji figured there must be a different reason for the man’s presence.

The more Seiji watched, the more he was impressed as this man clearly had skills, efficiently responding to each party’s requests to get them the photo they wanted before quickly moving on to the next group. Using basic English and communicating with gestures, he took about three photos every time and all the visitors walked away with big smiles on their faces.

It would’ve been a crowded mess here were it not for this kindly man, so when he finally took a break on his little foldable stool, Seiji approached him and asked if he wouldn’t mind being interviewed for our site. Smiling, he said he was happy to be interviewed, and he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a little something for Seiji.

▼ An origami shuriken (ninja throwing star).

This immediately put a smile on both their faces and paved the way for a happy interaction, which went as follows:

Seiji: “So are you helping to take commemorative photos for people at Hachiko?”

Ojiisan: “That’s right.”

Seiji: “Do you do this all day?”

Ojiisan: “No, I don’t do it all day. Only in the morning. In the afternoon, the line gets too long and I can’t handle it. Sometimes there are times when I have to say things like ‘Don’t cut in!’ when people don’t line up.”

Seiji: “So you’re also in charge of keeping the line in order. Is this some sort of job?”

Ojiisan: “No, I’m a volunteer.”

Seiji: “How long have you been doing this?”

Ojiisan: “I think it’s been about five years. I took a break during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Seiji: “So you restarted recently?”

Ojiisan: “That’s right. I restarted around May of this year. I’ll happily take a picture for you with Hachiko too.”

Seiji: “Why don’t we take a picture of the two of us together instead of me with Hachiko?”

Ojiisan: “Okay. But why would you want to do that?”

Seiji: “So I can add it when I share your story with our readers!”

Ojiisan: “Okay then, sure!”

▼ Sending love to our readers from these two in Shibuya.

He may be more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, but this old man left a great impression on Seiji. He was kind, earnest, and dedicated to showing up, which are all qualities embodied by Hachiko that serve to represent the neighbourhood and Japan in general. Quiet encounters like this are a big part of what makes the busy metropolis so special to Seiji, especially now that he’s become a resident of Shibuya, and he sincerely hopes to uncover more stories from unassuming yet inspiring individuals during his travels around Tokyo.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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