Fascinated by Akita Inu, the loyal dog Hachiko who changed my lifeNovember 11, 24:19

"Where are we going to meet?" "Then at 7 o'clock at night in front of Hachiko" Statue

of the meeting spot "Hachiko the loyal dog" in Shibuya. The Akita dog "Hachiko", who has been waiting in front of Shibuya Station for the return of the deceased doctor, celebrated the 11th anniversary of his birth in November.

Why are bees, which have been made into movies overseas and still influence many people, so loved so much? We interviewed a woman who said, "Bees have changed my way of life."

(Akita Broadcasting Station cameraman Hiroo Ogawa)

I like Akita Inu too much...

"I came to Odate because I like Akita dogs, and they are very cute. This is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Hachi, an Akita dog born in Odate, so I want to make it exciting!"

With a carefree smile, Shiori Hamada, who works as a community revitalization volunteer in Odate City, Akita Prefecture, talks about the charm of Akita dogs. He is affectionately called "Shiori-san" by his colleagues.

Shiori Hamada
: "The ears of Akita dogs are much thicker than those of dogs and are irresistible to the touch.

Shiori talks endlessly about the charm of Akita dogs. However, I have no connection or connection with Akita.

In addition, I am now continuing my original job, which is to convey the charm of Akita dogs and bees with flight attendants of major airlines through a truly "two-legged waraji".

Why on earth did you go so far as to become an Akita Inu? As I proceeded with the interview, it all started with a movie.

It all started with the Akita dog I saw in the movie

Shiori is from Fukuoka Prefecture. I have been familiar with animals since I was a child, such as having a dog at my parents' house.

Shiori was in her mid-teens, and the movie that moved her heart was "HACHI: The Promised Dog". The image of Hachi, an Akita dog searching for a professor played by Richard Gere, overlapped with the family dog.

"When I saw a bee that genuinely expressed its love for its owner, I thought that I would like to meet an Akita Inu someday."

From the glamorous world... I chose to go to Akita immediately

It's been about 10 years since I first encountered cinema. Shiori used her language skills to get a job as a flight attendant.

Shiori was striving every day to become a flight attendant who would make customers happy. However, the new coronavirus has taken away that sense of fulfillment. There were a lot of empty seats, and it was said that there were days when there was nothing to do for one day due to one reduction in flights after another.

When I felt overwhelmed with anxiety because I couldn't
see the
future, I found on the company's website that I was dispatched to a local area as a regional revitalization cooperation team. In an effort to maintain employment for airlines in a difficult financial situation, it was an initiative to temporarily dispatch employees to local governments across the country.

Among the various regions lined up, one job description caught my eye.

"Tourism promotion activities using Akita dogs" The

image of the bee at that time came back to Shiori's mind.



On the application form, where I was able to write up to my third choice, I only wrote my first choice. And Shiori, who had a long-cherished wish, took a leave of absence from her job as a flight attendant and went to Odate City, Akita Prefecture.

At that time, it was April 1, when the spread of the new corona infection was still continuing, such as the third state of emergency was declared.

Even if you think you're weird

In this way, Shiori was assigned to work for a two-year term as a community revitalization volunteer at the Tourism Division of Odate City, Akita Prefecture, the birthplace of Akita Inu.

Mr. Shiori is such a person. The first thing I started was "Akita Inu and Good Friend Strategy!"

First of all, I tried to learn about Akita dogs, so I found people walking with Akita dogs in the city and talked to them.

The owner of the Akita dog who
was called out by Shiori said, "I was surprised at first. I was told."

Shiori:
"At first, he might have thought I was a strange person, but I thought that if I could convey my liking for Akita dogs, they would get along with me."

Shiori's proactive approach has paid off, and I have had more opportunities to walk with Akita dogs from people I have become acquainted with.

At the same time, the growth record of the puppy born by the Akita Inu who became acquainted with the dog and the tourist attractions of the city are uploaded to SNS. Shiori laughs that it is a job that is both a hobby and a real benefit.

Hachiko's 100th Birthday

Mr. Shiori was entrusted with the "Hachiko 100th Birthday Project", commonly known as "HACHI100".

As a core member of a project to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hachi's birth with everyone, he began a life of shuttling back and forth between Shibuya, where the statue of Hachi is located, and his hometown of Odate City, Akita Prefecture. I visited hotels and restaurants to find a partner to celebrate my 100th birthday.

"It's a bee, so how about something with a bee in its name or the number 8?"

Through repeated suggestions and explanations, we were able to connect with about 190 partners. There were also people who cooperated with us through the contact point of being a bee lover.

French digital artist Maxime Giaut drew the design of the commemorative goods for free.

Maxime, like Shiori, is one of those who was fascinated by Hachiko, a loyal dog, after seeing "HACHI: The Promised Dog".

While communicating with Shiori through SNS, we hit it off and decided to draw a bee design.

Maxime depicted a bee that has been resurrected in the present era and is heading to its owner.

It was a design that depicted the bond with the owner that has not changed over 100 years.

Maxime:
"Hachiko is a symbol of deep affection for the people he loves, and if this design touches the hearts of even one person, that's what I'm looking for."

A circle that spreads through bees. While being involved in the center of such a movement, Shiori became fascinated by the "rewarding" that was different from the sense of fulfillment of flight attendants.

The "100-year-old" Hachiko who changed my way of life

However, as we worked the project, we also encountered major problems. In fact, Shiori's original term of office for the Regional Revitalization Cooperation Corps was until the end of March 2023. This would make it impossible to attend the 3th anniversary of the birth of bees in November.

So Shiori takes drastic action. It is a "concurrent position" with a flight attendant. As a result of a consultation between both Odate City and the airline, it was decided to extend the "term" of office by one year.

Shiori Hamada
: "Actually, my term of office as a volunteer was until the end of March, but I really wanted to hold this 3th anniversary event, so I am now continuing to do it while also working as a flight attendant."

Since April, Ms. Shiori has been working as a flight attendant and a community revitalization volunteer. After completing the flight, he returns to Odate City and continues to work as a volunteer on days when there are no flights. I've been going back and forth between Tokyo and Odate for eight months now.

While spending her days facing both Hachi and flight attendants, Shiori revealed that she noticed emotions that were different from the way she had been living.

"It made me realize that what I really want to do is not just a flight attendant, but that I feel passion when I listen to and convey their thoughts, and I work hard to achieve that."

November is the month of bees' birth, and the projects we have been working on are reaching a critical juncture. Shiori also spends her busy days giving lectures on Akita dogs and Hachiko at a local elementary school. We asked Shiori again about the charm of bees, which are celebrating their 11th birthday.

"Originally, the story of Hachiko and his owner and one of them grew to include newspaper reporters and station staff who heard the story, as well as people who were moved by Hachiko's behavior and fed him."

"And even after 1 years, it is still spreading to the world, involving many people, and some of them, like me, have changed their way of life. Not only are bees cute, but they also change the way people live. There's such an immense appeal."

The love story of an Akita dog and its master attracts many people, connects Akita and the land of Shibuya, and even changes people's way of life by involving people from all over the world. Celebrating the 1th anniversary of his birth, "Hachiko the Loyal Dog" is packed with many such charms.

Postscript

In January, I, a photographer, started photographing Shiori, who works as a community revitalization volunteer in Odate City, Akita Prefecture.

My first impression was that she was a flight attendant from Tokyo. However, as I continued my interviews, I realized that he was becoming an indispensable part of Odate's 1-year Hachiko project, as he talked to them in a friendly manner and got more and more involved in the people around him. It may be that "what you like is what you are good at."

I had known about the statue of Hachiko in Shibuya since I was a student, but through the interview, I was reminded that Hachi is a wonderful existence that people can meet and connect with.

(Broadcast on November 100 "Kinyoru Akita")

【Trivia】"Akitainu" or "Akitaken"?

The correct answer is "Akitainu". It is said that "Akitaken" is sometimes mistaken for Akita Prefecture, and the reading is unified with "Akitainu".

Akita Inu was designated as a national natural monument in Showa 6, and many people think of "red hair" that is brownish like a bee, but there are also "tiger hair" like a tiger and pure white "white hair" as Akita Inu's coat color. In addition, Americans who came to Japan after the war brought it back to their home country, and a dog breed called "American Akita" was born.

Akita Broadcasting Station News Cameraman
Hiroki OgawaJoined
the station in 2009After working in Yamagata, Okayama, Osaka, and Tokyo, the two children of the current team
also love Akita dogs, and if you want to have a dog, Akita dogs are the
only choice