As part of the Shibuya Station block land readjustment project, a temporary fence will be erected behind the statue of Hachiko at Hachiko Square in front of Shibuya Station on March 27, 2025, and work to remove the "Shibuya Station Hachiko Garden," which is modeled after a dry landscape garden, will begin.

The scenery around Shibuya Station is changing day by day, with the demolition of the Tokyu Toyoko Department Store building and the relocation of the Hachiko ticket gate at JR Shibuya Station. The removal of the "mini garden" is being carried out as part of station improvement work.

Temporary fence set up in the garden in front of Hachiko at Shibuya Station

The inside of the temporary enclosure. Removal work will be carried out between 10:30 and 10:30 p.m. (6 a.m.).

A distinctive feature of the temporary construction fence that has been set up is that it has a photo of Shibuya Station from 1959 (Showa 34) printed on it. According to a person involved, "(This photo) is from the 1950s, when urban development and transportation network development around Shibuya Station progressed and Shibuya developed as a commercial area," and it shows the station facilities having been modernized after the postwar reconstruction, and the area was full of vitality in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics. In addition, "Shibuya Station continues to change even now, but it has evolved and grown ahead of the times since ancient times," and it conveys the idea that never stagnates and always changing is what makes it "Shibuya-like."

The Hachiko statue matches the scenery of Shibuya Station in the 1950s

During the war, the Hachiko statue was removed as a metal donation, but after the war, the second one was rebuilt in 1948 (Showa 23), and since then, it has continued to watch over the Shibuya area for 77 years. When you see the Hachiko statue sitting in front of the photo on the temporary fence, you can imagine the scene from that time, as if you had traveled back in time 60 years ago.

Left: Somei-yoshino cherry trees in front of Hachiko Square. Right: Behind the statue of Hachiko is a weeping cherry tree donated by Odate City, Hachiko's hometown. Both the Somei-yoshino and weeping cherry trees are in full bloom.

The statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog, set against the backdrop of the 1950s is a precious sight that can only be seen now. The removal of the dry landscape garden will take place until June 30th.

In front of the Hachiko statue, crowded with foreign tourists

Now is the perfect time to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, so why not go out and meet the 1950s version of Hachiko?

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Editorial Department: Takashi Fujii

Shibuya registrar. In addition to Shibuya of Culture information, seasonal news and topics, it will spell write that feel every day.