Tour Report on 12 January 2020, Meet the legendary dogs at National Museum of Science and Nature!

Many thanks to 6 guests who joined today’s tours in Asakusa and Ueno Park. In the morning, we welcomed 5 guests from USA, South Africa, Hong Kong and South Korea at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, and then in the afternoon we welcomed 1 guest from USA in Ueno Park.

That day was actually the first tour day of the sites in 2020. So Happy New Year for the guests!

It was cloudy, and sometimes slightly rainy and cold in the afternoon. But we could enjoy the tours and the atmosphere was very cheerful since it was in still a new year holiday mood so the places we walked on were crowded with people enjoying some festivities.

We usually tell guests impressive stories about the tour sites and hope the stories inspire their life. In Ueno Park tour, when we pass National Museum of Science and Nature. We talk about the legendary dogs exhibited there.

One of the dogs is HACHI, whose specie is Akitainu. Hachi was taken care by a man named Ueno in Tokyo, 1920’s. When Ueno used the Shibuya Station for the commute, Hachi went along with him and when he came back home, Hachi waited for the master at the station. But 3 years after the dog arrived his master’s house, Ueno suddenly died. Hachi had still missed him and kept on waiting for the master for 10 years until he died. This story moved many people and his story became a legend so his dead body turned stuffed specimen and his statue was erected at the Shibuya Station.

The other dogs are Taro and Jiro, which were two brother dogs whose specie was Sakhalin Husky. They were sledge dogs for the Japanese Antarctica research team in 1950’s. In 1957, 15 dogs were transported to the research base in Antarctica to carry research team staff and equipment on icy field. But due to the bad weather, the team had to leave Antarctica but they could not transport the dogs because of limitation of weight to fly the airplane to the ship for Japan. The dogs were left behind in the Antarctica without food for a year. But next year when the team came back to the base, the two dogs were found alive. The survival of the brother dogs became a legend. One of the two, Jiro’s stuffed specimen is exhibited at the museum.

The stories of the dogs were made into films by Japanese and American filmmakers. It is highly recommended to see the films （Hachi, A dog’s tale, Eight Below) before or after you see the exhibition.

These dog stories featured friendship and strength. These may be common themes with this year’s Olympics and Paralympics. In Tokyo the main stadium for the Olympics and Paralympics was already complete. We are excited about this event.

This summer you will see very moving dramas in the games that should inspire your life. We will help our guests who will enjoy such dramas.

Welcome to the dramas in TOKYO 2020!  Please come and join us.

(Masa)

For more details, please visit our website, Facebook

and Tokyo Free Walking Tour at https://tripadvisor.com !

Asakusa Tour Information

Ueno Tour Information