What is the Hachiko Statue?

The Hachiko Statue is a free, 24-hour bronze memorial in Hachiko Plaza, directly outside Shibuya Station's Hachiko Exit. It honors Hachiko, an Akita dog who continued waiting at the station for his deceased owner, Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, for years after Ueno's 1925 death. It's one of Tokyo's most famous meeting points and sits directly beside Shibuya Crossing.

Is the Hachiko Statue free to visit?

Yes. It's an outdoor public monument with no ticket, gate, or admission fee, accessible 24 hours a day, every day.

Is the current Hachiko Statue the original 1934 statue?

No. The original statue, sculpted by Teru Ando and unveiled in April 1934 with Hachiko present, was melted down as part of a wartime metal drive by 1944. The statue standing today is a 1948 replacement sculpted by Takeshi Ando, the original sculptor's son.

How long should you spend at the Hachiko Statue?

Most visitors spend 10-20 minutes: enough time to read the plaque, wait a turn for a clear photo, and move on. It's a brief stop rather than a destination requiring a dedicated block of time.

Is the Hachiko Statue near Shibuya Crossing?

Yes. The statue sits in Hachiko Plaza, just a few steps from Shibuya Crossing, both directly outside Shibuya Station's Hachiko Exit. Most visitors see both on the same short stop.

Is the Hachiko Statue the same as the Moyai statue?

No. They're two separate, unrelated statues near Shibuya Station that are sometimes confused by name recognition alone. The Moyai Statue is a stone statue that was relocated behind the Shibuya Fukuras complex in January 2025 and is not currently in a central, easy-to-reach spot. The Hachiko Statue is the bronze Akita dog memorial in Hachiko Plaza, and it has not moved.

Is the Hachiko Statue worth visiting?

Yes, as a brief, essentially free add-on for nearly anyone already visiting Shibuya Crossing, given the zero added distance and the genuinely moving story behind it. It's a stronger priority for travelers specifically drawn to the Hachiko story or traveling with dog lovers, and not worth a dedicated standalone trip given its realistic 10-20 minute visit and modest physical size.

Has the Hachiko Statue been affected by Shibuya Station's construction?

The statue itself has not moved. The surrounding area has changed as part of Shibuya Station's redevelopment, scheduled to continue into 2027: the Hachiko ticket gate has been relocated twice, most recently on March 1, 2026, and the nearby Hachiko Family mosaic mural has been permanently removed. See What's Changed Near the Statue above for current, dated details.

Is the Hachiko Statue wheelchair accessible?

Per a third-party accessibility source, yes: Hachiko Plaza is flat and fully paved, reached step-free from Shibuya Station via elevators and ramps. The main practical consideration is crowd density rather than physical access, so visiting early morning or late evening makes for easier movement as well as fewer people.

Hachiko Statue

By Andrew Liyan · Last updated: August 24, 2026 · Facts verified: August 24, 2026

Quick Answer

Hours

24 hours a day, every day

Admission

Free

Nearest Station

Shibuya Station's Hachiko Exit, JR Yamanote Line / Tokyo Metro Ginza, Hanzomon, and Fukutoshin Lines

Best Time

Early morning, roughly 6:00-8:00 AM on a weekday, for the fewest people

Visit Duration

10-20 minutes

The bronze Hachiko Statue at Hachiko Plaza outside Shibuya Station's Hachiko Exit, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Area: Shibuya
Best For: History, Photography, Dog Lovers
Nearby: Shibuya Crossing · Shibuya Sky

Plan Your Tokyo Visit

Visiting Hachiko Statue

The Hachiko Statue is a small bronze memorial standing in Hachiko Plaza, immediately outside Shibuya Station's Hachiko Exit, part of the Tokyo travel region. It honors Hachiko, an Akita dog who continued waiting at the station for his owner for years after the owner died, and it has become one of Japan's most recognized symbols of loyalty. The statue sits directly beside Shibuya Crossing, a few steps from the intersection itself, and most visitors see both on the same short stop.

First-time visitors sometimes expect a large, elaborate monument. What's actually there is a modest, seated bronze dog on a low stone base, in a compact plaza that's almost always busy. The statue's meaning, not its size, is what draws people here. Most visits last only 10-20 minutes: enough time to read the accompanying plaque, take a photo, and move on toward Shibuya Crossing or into Shibuya Station.

One detail trips up a lot of visitors: the statue standing today is not the original. It's a 1948 replacement, and the full story, including what happened to the first statue, is covered below.

Shibuya Station's surrounding area is also in the middle of a long-running renovation project as of 2025-2026, which has changed some nearby navigation and removed a couple of related landmarks. The statue itself has not moved. See What's Changed Near the Statue below for current, dated details.

Things to Do at Hachiko Statue

Hachiko was an Akita dog, born in November 1923 in Odate, Akita Prefecture, who belonged to Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor of agricultural engineering at Tokyo Imperial University living in Shibuya. Each day, Hachiko greeted Ueno at Shibuya Station when he returned from work.

On May 21, 1925, Ueno died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage while at work and never returned to the station. Hachiko kept coming back to Shibuya Station every day to wait for him, continuing for roughly nine to ten years until his own death in March 1935.

The story spread nationally and turned Hachiko into one of Japan's most widely recognized symbols of loyalty, a reputation reinforced internationally by the 2009 Hollywood film "Hachi: A Dog's Tale." In September 2023, Shibuya City and Odate City, Hachiko's hometown, jointly marked his 100th birth anniversary through the HACHI100 Project, underscoring the story's continued civic significance.

How to Get to Hachiko Statue

Shibuya Station is one of Tokyo's busiest transit hubs, and the Hachiko Exit is the specific exit to look for, whichever line you arrive on.

Lines Serving Shibuya Station
JR Yamanote, Saikyo, and Shonan-Shinjuku Lines; Tokyo Metro Ginza, Hanzomon, and Fukutoshin Lines; and the Keio Inokashira and Tokyu Toyoko and Den-en-toshi Lines all serve Shibuya Station. Whichever line you use, follow the in-station signs toward the Hachiko Exit rather than any other exit.
Current Gate-Navigation Notes (Dated)
As of the current redevelopment described in What's Changed Near the Statue above, the Hachiko ticket gate has shifted position twice, most recently on March 1, 2026, and the number of usable gates has been reduced. Exiting during peak periods can take a few extra minutes while you locate the current gate position; this is a temporary construction effect, not a change to the statue's location, which remains exactly outside the Hachiko Exit as always.

For IC cards, tickets, and full transit basics for Tokyo, see the complete transportation guide.

See the Getting Around Tokyo guide →

Map

Open Hachiko Statue in Google Maps

Best Time to Visit Hachiko Statue

Early morning, roughly 6:00-8:00 AM on a weekday, for the fewest people and the best light; the noon-to-evening window is consistently busier.

Entry Fee & Hours

🎟️

Admission

Free

⏰

Hours

24 hours a day, every day

💡Good to Know

•The Hachiko Statue has no entrance, ticket, or barrier of any kind. It's a free public monument open and accessible 24 hours a day.
•Hachiko Plaza is flat and fully paved, reached step-free from Shibuya Station; the main practical accessibility consideration is crowd density during peak hours rather than physical access, per a third-party accessibility source.
•An informal, self-organizing photo queue forms at busy times; visiting early morning or early evening gives the clearest shot and the fewest people to work around.
•Shibuya Station's Hachiko Gate has moved twice as part of an active redevelopment scheduled to continue into 2027, most recently on March 1, 2026; treat gate-navigation details as current-as-of this page's fact verification date rather than permanent, since a further move is possible before the next review.