Under cherry blossoms in full bloom, a group of roughly 80 people, both Japanese and foreign alike, gathered to celebrate the 89th Anniversary since the faithful dog Hachiko’s passing.
The story of Hachiko, a Shiba-ken bread of dog who patiently waited near Shibuya Station for the return of his deceased owner, gained considerable fame, both domestically and internationally. The 2009 feature film HACHI: A Dog’s Tale, staring Richard Gere, also aided the world-wide notability of the beloved dog.
The ceremony is typically held closer to the known date of Hachiko’s passing, March 8, but was pushed until early April to coincide with the warmer sakura cherry blossom season.
Roughly 80 attendees were present at the memorial service, among them were the family of the statue’s sculptor, Tsukasa Ando, Shibuya Ward Mayor Ken Hasebe, and the mayor of Hachi’s hometown of Odate, Akita Prefecture.
Also in attendance was Junko Tsukasa, Ando’s eldest daughter, expressed, “I’m grateful we could hold the service amidst the falling cherry blossom petals. I wish for the Hachiko statue to endure as a symbol of peace into the future.”
Take the Hachiko Exit at the JR Shibuya Station and walk straight and slightly to the right. The statue is not difficult to find. Please use the map below to help you find it!
Hey, guys, it’s Blaze! For anyone who’s ever visited the Shibuya area of Tokyo, you might be really surprised the next time you visit because wow! It’s really undergoing some major changes! I almost didn’t even recognize the place! Here’ll I’ll touch a little bit on the extent of the construction and what’s in store for the city!
As a normal part of the human condition, it’s often difficult to let go of the past and accept change, and that is no different with the recent changes that the city of Shibuya have been undergoing. Although some of your favorite cityscapes might be gone for good, the future ahead is finally beginning to take shape and blossom. Let’s take a look at the four major developments currently underway in Shibuya!
While you’re being nostalgic, here are some photos of what the station looked like before several of the train lines, in this case the Toyoko Live, were moved in 2013. As you’ll see below, this area was repurposed for the Shibuya Station South Area.
Located on the east side of Shibuya Station, the first of the major changes to hit Shibuya came in the form of this 43-story, 183-meter-tall skyscraper that connects to the station both above and below ground. Completed in 2012, it stands as a one of the area’s prominent shipping, business, and entertainment hubs.
② Shibuya Station South Area
35 stories, 4 underground floors, 180m
▲ The Shibuya Stream was completed in 2018 and is located just south of Shibuya Station. The building hosts the head office for Google Japan.
Shibuya 109 (or known simply as ichi maru kyuu) | Photo by Time Out
This a stretch of town that includes the Hachiko statue just outside Shibuya Station, Shibuya 109 across the street at the famous Shibuya Crossing, as well as further up the hill that curves off to the left the further you get from Shibuya Station.
The last time I walked this area was sometime late last year, and construction had already progressed to the point of removing complete buildings. It will be very interesting to see what gets built instead.
Several new skyscrapers are currently being erected south of the station and west of the Yamanote Line to completely alter the area, making it nearly unrecognizable. One of these is a 180-meter tall, 36-story office tower while the other will be a 150-meter tall, 32-story condo. Among many other companies relocating, one of these buildings will serve as the new Square Enix headquarters, moving from the the Shinjuku Eastside Square. It will be interesting to see if the Square Enix cafe ARTNIA will also be relocating or will stay at its current location just outside the East Shinjuku Station.
Can’t make it out to take part in the Halloween festivities tonight? Or maybe you had plans to check out what’s going on in Shibuya (even though the city’s told people not to come!), there are a ton of other alternatives you can take to enjoy this time of year without even leaving the comfort of your home– all held in the virtual space!
Before taking a look at the various attractions that are available, it seems there are two ways in which to participate:
You are able to download the αU metaverse app on the Apple app or the Google Play stores. There are several restrictions, however, depending on your device. They state the following system/device recommendations:
▶︎ iPhone Recommendations
Recommended iOS: iOS14.0 or above
Device: iPhoneXS or later
Does not include iPhone XR or iPhone SE (2nd gen)
▶︎ Android Recommendations
Recommended OS: Android 10 or above
Device: Released after 2019 with at least 4GB of RAM
▶︎ Other Things to Note
Please be aware that data will be downloaded upon booting the app for the first time.
This is a free to use service, but some micro transactions are present within the application.
This service is intended for those 13 years old and above.
You are able to download the αU metaverse app on the Apple app or the Google Play stores. There are several restrictions, however, depending on your device. They state the following system/device recommendations:
▶︎ Device Recommendations
iOS 13.0 or above
Android 9.0 or above
Windows 10 – 64 bit
macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Once you’ve done all that jazz, here are a couple of the more interesting events that you can take part in yet tonight!
Halloween Clean-up Operation
Details: Zombies have appeared and made a real mess in the virtual city of Shibuya in αU. Clean up the city to make it beautiful once more so we can all enjoy a fun Halloween! There’s also a photo contest where you can earn rewards by taking photos and posting them to Twitter.
Kafu appears in Virtual Shibuya
Details: There will be a live performance within the virtual space just in front of the iconic 109 building. It’s a new type of live experience where you can view the performance from any angle you wish. The virtual singer Kafu, who debuted with Kantsubaki will be performing. There’s also a photo booth where you can take your photo together with Kafu.
▶︎ Other Events
Atarashii Gakko Virtual Live 2021 ver. October 31 – Open: 8:30pm Start: 9:00pm
As you may already be aware, this is just one of the many things that Shibuya Ward is trying to do to stop people from coming to Shibuya merely to party and make a wreck of the area on Halloween. Of course, there are many people who were merely enjoying the time with their friends in fun Halloween costumes, but more often than not, it’s the small few who cause issues that ruin the whole thing for everybody.
Here’s the Mayor of Shibuya Ward, Ken Hasebe, pretty much pleading with people to stay home on Halloween and enjoy these virtual attractions instead.
Comment from the Shibuya Ward Mayor, Ken Hasebe
And if you’d just like a look at a live camera from Shibuya, here’s a pretty good one from ANN News:
Shibuya’s war on Halloween continues as more restrictions and closures are announced. Along with the previously stated cancellation of all Halloween events around the holiday that mysteriously brought thousands of people to the streets of Shibuya to partake in the tradition of dressing up in crazy costumes, the Burger King store in Shibuya went one step further by declaring they would be closing up shop for that day. Releasing a high-end promotional video posted to their Twitter account, Burger King announced their plans to close on Halloween.
As you can see in the tweet above, the video depicts a limping zombie walk down the clean streets of Shibuya only to find itself in front of a vandalized and ransacked Burger King restaurant. Inside, shine all sorts of brightly colored lights, flickering on and off as two workers attempt to clean the mess. As one of them comments how scary it is, the zombie suddenly very nimble appears out of the darkness right next to one of the workers. Lunging forward to attack, the zombie topples along with the worker over the side of the counter. The screen flashes in and out of black screens where we can only assume he’s biting the poor worker, but then we see it picking up a delicious Whopper and the video zooms closer and closer into its mouth as it takes a big bite.
That’s when a great big X is drawn on the screen with the classic WRONG buzzer sound, as a wall of text in both Japanese and English is plastered on the screen.
[Notice] This year’s Burger King is not a venue for Halloween events. NO EVENTS FOR HALLOWEEN AT BURGER KING THIS YEAR. TEMPORARILY CLOSED on Tuesday, October 31
Then the video ends in almost comedic fashion by drawing an X over the Burger King logo.
It’s absolutely understandable that something needed to be done about how absolutely out of hand got in recent years, especially last year with all the vandalism and even overturning of a small truck, but simply cancelling Halloween outright is not going to stop people from being dumb elsewhere.
The issue with things like this is that very rarely the cause of the problem is never dealt with directly and secondary symptoms are treated with a simple band-aid. It’s not fixing the root of the problem and therefore it never really gets better.
Of course, it’s good that precautions are being made to avoid a repeat of what happened in Seoul, South Korea last year, but there could have been other more positive ways to deal with the problem than banning the thing outright.
▶︎ It’s Thinking Time!
What do you think?
Have you ever experienced Halloween in Shibuya? What was your experience like?
Do you think this was the right move for a company to make? If not, how do you think they should have resolved the issue?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
▶︎ Follow Up
It seems as though this particular store literally decorated it in a spooky fashion to give patrons a little taste of Halloween prior to closing up shop on Tuesday. This at least gives people the opportunity to enjoy the holiday and still opt out of the craziness that has been occurring Halloween night in Shibuya in recent years.
“Shibuya is not a place to hold Halloween events.” | Photo: JREF
Ever since the public spectacle of people overly enjoying Halloween events in Shibuya 2018, including public intoxication and even vandalism that included toppling a truck on its side, the mayer of Shibuya Ward has officially cancelled Halloween this year. Just outside Shibuya Station, you can see a large sign that states as such:
NO EVENTS FOR HALLOWEEN ON SHIBUYA STREETS.
The Japanese text above this can be translated to “Shibuya is not a place to hold Halloween events.”
More specifically, Ken Hasebe, mayor of Shibuya Ward, issued a statement in which bans spectators from celebrating Halloween from October 27-October 31, between 6pm and 5am. Not only did he ban public consumption of alcohol on the streets and in public spaces around Shibuya Station, including Center Gai, but there will also be around 100 police guarding the area and making sure there’s no trouble this year. Furthermore, local convenience stores and liquor stores have been asked not to sell alcohol during these hours.
FirePress Japan by Blaze 'n' Rekka 
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