The dogs that hunt the smaller Japanese Asiatic bears there are called Akitas and this is one reason you should own one if you live there. And if you die first when owning one, they'll also wait for you at the train station for years until they die.

We were in Tokyo back in May and unfortunately the Hachiko statue was walled off because of all the construction going on around Shibuya station. I love that story, and it just shows why dogs are the best animals on the planet.