Aura of Hachiko Statue, Five Times in Shibuya Crossing

Still remember?…..

When D.K’s black car was chasing Sean Boswell who was speeding in his red racing car and the racing group was led by Han Lue in front who was masculine swerving in his yellow racing car. In the chase, there was a moment when three race cars were forced to pass at an intersection which full of pedestrians. The scene was so thrilling but looked absolutely fantastic from top camera. Unmistakably, that was a piece of scene in the movie “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”. And the intersection in question was known as the Shibuya Crossing.

Well, if this was a different story again…..

Have you ever watched a film based on a true story and tell of a dog named Hachi and his master Parker Wilson, played by veteran actor Richard Gere?.

Being tell In the film, Hachi was so loyal and always took Wilson to station every day to go to teach and waited for his return in front of the same station in afternoon. Such was Hachi’s daily activities. Until one day, Wilson died on campus because of a heart attack and would never see Hachi again. But because of Hachi’s loyalty, Hachi until the end of its life still waiting for its master who never again came in front of the station. This legendary dog ​​was a true story of the origin of Hachiko Statue which was located near Shibuya Station and just a hundred meters south of Shibuya Crossing.

That afternoon the air was getting colder, slowly dropping from 4 Celsius degree, the time was 13:45 hours when I was already at the north entrance gate of Nakano Station. Not long, the Chuo-Sobu Line train arrived. In the late afternoon, passengers were still quiet, maybe it wasn’t time to go home from work. I took a seat on the left side of carriage and felt the warmth of air in the carriage. I only realized when I felt hot air gush from under the seat and hit my feet as I sat down. Apparently trains in Japan put a heating engine under the seat.

The inner side of Shibuya Station.
Shibuya Station Gate directly located opposite Hachiko Square.

Just five minutes towards southeast, I got off the Chuo-Sobu Line to change to Yamanote Line. Now the train was moving south for four kilometers and took ten minutes and was in increasingly congested passenger conditions. Yamanote Line is the busiest train line in downtown Tokyo.

I arrived at Shibuya Station on 14:00 hours and took directions to Hachiko Exit Gate at north of station building. When I stepped out of station gate, I was immediately greeted by appearance of Hachiko Square which was already full of visitors. Some sat on each side of the plaza and most surrounded the statue of loyal beast queuing for photos. There was nothing special about the statue, maybe it was Hachiko’s life story which made the statue feel alive and became a attention center.

I enjoyed soon the crowd at Hachiko Square. Because I couldn’t wait to feel the sensation of crossing at Shibuya Crossing. I stepped a hundred meters north and started to stand at that famous five junction. I could only smile to myself when I saw the behavior of some tourists when crossing. Some took pictures in the middle of intersection, some ran and climbed a signpole to take photos from a height, and some posted vlogs as long as the green light was still on. And when a sign sound “tut-tut-tut” loudly shouting after another as a sign that traffic light would turn red, then all tourists and local pedestrians rushed to walk to road edge and briefly left a silence moment, then followed by the sound of horns and the roar of car engines which scrambling across the intersection headed in all directions.

Chūken Hachikō, if it were still alive, t would be 97 years old.
Yuhuu….Shibuya Crossing.
Tsutaya is a well-known bookstore in Japan. I’m @ Shibuya Crossing.
An intersection which is said to be able to cross 50,000 pedestrians for 30 minutes.

I was who still couldn’t believe that I could be there, was infected by their acute strangeness. Since it was an intersection of five streets, it was even five times, I crossed back and forth from side to side at Shibuya Crossing. Oh my God, Was this an afternoon when made me going crazy from exposure to Tokyo life’s aroma?.

Aura Patung Hachiko, Lima Kali Shibuya Crossing

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Masih ingat?…..

Ketika mobil hitam milik D.K sedang mengejar Sean Boswell  yang melaju cepat dengan mobil balap warna merahnya dan rombongan balap itu dipimpin oleh Han Lue di depan yang dengan maskulin meliak-liuk dengan mobil balap ceper kuningnya. Dalam aksi kejar-kejaran itu, ada sebuah momen ketika ketiga mobil balap itu terpaksa melintas di sebuah simpang lima yang penuh dengan para penyeberang jalan. Adegan itu begitu mendebarkan tetapi terlihat sangat fantastis dari kamera atas. Tak salah lagi, itulah sepenggal scene dalam film “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”. Dan simpang lima yang dimaksud terkenal dengan nama Shibuya Crossing.

Nah, kalau ini kisah yang berbeda lagi…..

Pernahkah kamu menonton sebuah film yang diangkat dari true story dan menceritakan seekor anjing bernama Hachi beserta tuannya Parker Wilson yang diperankan oleh aktor kawakan Richard Gere?.

Dalam film itu dikisahkan Hachi yang begitu setia dan setiap hari mengantar Wilson menuju stasiun untuk berangkat mengajar lalu menunggu kepulangannya di depan stasiun yang sama saat sore tiba. Begitulah kegiatan harian Hachi. Hingga pada suatu saat, Wilson meninggal di kampus karena serangan jantung dan tidak akan pernah bertemu Hachi kembali. Tetapi karena kesetiaannya, Hachi hingga akhir hayat tetap menunggu majikannya yang tak pernah lagi datang di depan stasiun. Anjing yang melegenda ini adalah kisah nyata yang menjadi asal usul Patung Hachiko yang lokasinya berada di dekat Stasiun Shibuya dan hanya berjarak seratus meter di sebelah selatan Shibuya Crossing.

Kedua film itulah yang sebetulnya menjadi dasar dan alasan bagiku untuk menempatkan Shibuya Crossing dan Patung Hachiko sebagai tujuan pertama di Toyo.

Siang itu udara semakin mendingin, perlahan turun dari 4o Celcius, waktu menunjukkan pukul 13:45 saat aku sudah berada di north entrance gate Stasiun Nakano. Tak lama, kereta Chuo-Sobu Line itu tiba. Siang menjelang sore, penumpang masih sepi, mungkin memang belum saatnya jam pulang kantor. Aku mengambil duduk di sisi gerbong sebelah kiri dan merasakan hangatnya udara dalam gerbong.  Aku baru sadar ketika merasakan hawa panas menyembur dari bawah bangku dan menerpa bagian bawah kaki ketika duduk. Rupanya kereta di Jepang menaruh mesin pemanas di bagian bawah bangku.

Sisi dalam Stasiun Shibuya.
Gerbang Stasiun Shibuya yang berhadapan langsung dengan Hachiko Square.

Hanya lima menit menuju tenggara, aku menuruni gerbong Chuo-Sobu Line untuk berganti  ke gerbong Yamanote Line. Kini kereta bergerak ke selatan sejauh empat kilometer dan memerlukan waktu tempuh sepuluh menit serta dalam kondisi penumpang yang semakin padat. Maklum Yamanote Line merupakan jalur kereta tersibuk di pusat kota Tokyo.

Aku tiba di Stasiun Shibuya pada pukul 14:00 dan mengambil arah ke Hachiko Exit Gate di sebelah utara bangunan stasiun. Langkah kakiku saat keluar dari gerbang stasiun seketika disambut oleh penampakan Hachiko Square yang sudah penuh dengan pengunjung. Sebagian duduk di setiap sisi plaza dan sebagian besarnya mengelilingi patung binatang loyal itu untuk mengantri berfoto. Taka da yang spesial dari patungnya, mungkin kisah hidup Hachiko lah yang membuat patung itu serasa hidup dan menjadi pusat perhatian.

Aku tak lama menikmati keramaian di Hachiko Square. Karena tak sabaran ingin merasakan sensasi menyeberang di Shibuya Crossing. Aku melangkah seratus meter  ke utara dan mulai berdiri di simpang lima ternama itu. Aku hanya bisa tersenyum sendiri ketika melihat kelakuan para turis di saat menyeberang. Ada yang berfoto ria di tengah simpang lima itu, ada yang berlari dan memanjat tiang rambu-rambu untuk mengambil foto dari ketinggian dan ada juga yang memuat vlog selama lampu hijau masih menyala. Dan saat bunyi tut-tut-tut berseru nyaring bersusulan sebagai pertanda lampu rambu akan berganti menjadi merah, maka para turis dan pejalan kaki lokal berlarian menuju ke tepian dan sekejap menyisakan hening sesaat, kemudian disusul oleh bunyi klakson dan deru mesin kendaraan yang berebut melintas simpang lima itu menuju ke segala arah.

Chūken Hachikō, andai masih hidup, dia sudah berumur 97 tahun.
Yuhuuu….Shibuya Crossing.
Tsutaya adalah toko buku kenamaan di Jepang. I’m @ Shibuya Crossing.
Simpang Lima yang konon mampu menyeberangkan 50.000 pejalan kaki selama 30 menit.

Aku yang masih tak percaya bisa berada di situ pun tertular keanehan akut mereka. Karena ini simpang lima maka genap lima kali pula, aku menyeberang bolak-balik dari satu sisi ke sisi yang lain di Shibuya Crossing. Oh Tuhan, inikah sebuah siang yang membuatku menjadi gila karena terpapar aroma kehidupan Tokyo?.

Kisah Selanjutnya—->