The touching true story of a sweet, loyal dog..

This is the heartwarming story about the close, unique bond between a master and his dog, highlighting the loyalty and faithfulness of the animal.




How tight is the bond between you and your dog? Do you know how much love and loyalty there is between you? Is your dog as loyal as Hachiko? Wait, who is Hachiko? Well, this film will tell you.

The life journey of Hachiko or “Hachi” begins when college professor Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) finds the dog at a train station. Hachi is an Akita dog from Japan, characterized by its delicate features and milk-colored fur.

The sudden appearance of the cute, homeless animal does not immediately impress Parker’s wife, Cate Wilson (played by Joan Allen) who wants to get rid of it. But the bond that gradually builds between Parker and Hachi eventually melts her heart, and she allows it to stay.

Parker’s best friend Ken (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), who is of Japanese descent, tells Parker some wise words: “It is not you who found the dog, but the dog found you.”

Parker and Hachi build an unbreakable friendship. Parker plays with the dog and teaches it how to catch a ball. And Hachi accompanies the professor every day on his way to the train station, and then returns to the station in the afternoons to greet Parker on his way home.

One day the professor passes away in class, and does not come back to the station. But Hachi continues to wait for him. Parker’s daughter, who lives out of town eventually goes to collect the dog to take it home, but afterwards Hachi faithfully returns to the station to wait for the professor.





The story of Hachi soon becomes the talk of the town. During its daily visits to the station Hachi touches the hearts of many people who work or live in the area. The dog teaches the local people about love, compassion, devotion and loyalty.

This film is an American adaptation of a true Japanese story about a loyal dog named Hachiko, and is also a remake of the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari. The real Hachiko was born in 1923 in Odate and a year later a professor called Ueno brought it to his home in Tokyo.

Just like in the movie, Hachiko followed the professor everywhere, accompanying him to Shibuya station every morning and then returning and waiting for him every afternoon.

One day in May 1925, Ueno didn’t come home because he died while at work. Mrs. Ueno gave the dog to her husband’s relative, but it returned to the train station every afternoon for about a decade.

Hachiko continued to go to the station until its death in 1935.

Hachiko was memorialized in a bronze statue, captured sitting in its waiting spot outside the Shibuya station to remind the community of its great devotion and love.





With so many dog movies around, Hachiko appears to be the most touching yet. This is definitely a tearjerker, in the magnitude of the animal’s love for its master. While the film is about undying love, and Hachiko symbolizes faith and loyalty, it also gives us mixture of feelings of hope, happiness, loss and loneliness.


There is only one thing I can suggest if you choose to watch this film: Make sure you bring enough tissues.


Verdict : A very touching story that teaches us about loyalty and faithfulness.