Hachiko is not alone

Once my friend asked me to meet at Shibuya, I replied her immediately that 'ハチコを知りますか。ハチコに会いましょう。' (Do you know Hachiko? Let's meet at Hachiko!) . My friend bursted into a laugh because I sound like a Japanese to ask a foreigner to meet at a landmark, statue of Hachiko. You may wonder why Hachiko would be the landmark of Shibuya. Also Community bus at Shibuya was also named after Hachiko. In fact, there was a true story of a Akita dog, Hachiko, that faithfully waited for the return of his owner nearby Shibuya every day for 9 years. Eventully, Hachiko became a symbol of loyalty and also known as a faithful dog.

Akita dog's popularity never reach the peak. Couple months ago, Akita dogs features in Softbank commericals for new cell phones, PANTONE® 3. Pantone, licensed colors, is known as a worldwide language of colors. It's a very important for graphic, web, fashion and apparel designers to use this standard language to communicate with the manufacturers. In recent years, Pantone is not just a language of colors, but also a language of marketing. I am not excited for all this gimmick for softbank. However, the Softbank's billboard at the opposite side of the statue of Hichiko is definitely eye-catching. Indeed, Shibuya is a landmark for Akita dogs now.