Page 69 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze
"Hachiko? Like the movie ‘Hachiko’?"
"You watchedHachiko?" I look up and raise an eyebrow at him, whistling impressed when he nods.
"Of course I did.” He rolls his eyes and follows suit when I get up. “What does that have to do with Shibuya?”
“There's a statue of Hachiko right next to the station,” I let him know, reaching for his hand again as the train doors open. “There’s even another one at a university in Tokyo where he reunites with his owner.”
“That’s so touching.”
"Yes, but the one at the station is definitely the bigger tourist spot. The last time I was in Shibuya during the day, there were so many people wanting to take a picture with it that I could barely get close enough to see it.”
Then again, the last time I was in Tokyo was during Halloween season, and Shibuya was even more crowded than usual. So maybe I'm picturing it worse than it usually is.
"Alright," he says with a determined nod. "Now I definitely want to see it. Let's go check it out."
I take a second to orient myself at the stations, trying to find signs pointing me to the right direction. Something is different here compared to the last time and there’s construction going on, so I find the signs for the Hachiko exit and follow them religiously to not get lost in this station.
It has happened to me before and was not very fun.
The sun is now higher in the sky, tainting the city and sky in pretty pink and orange hues as the first rays illuminate the clouds.
"It's so serene," I say, voice full of wonder. Everything looks so vast without people crowding in from all sides. There are still more people than I expected for this time of the day, but we can walk at a normal pace without bumping into anyone or having to dodge people every two steps.
Within minutes, we come to a stop in front of the statue.
"So this is Hachiko," Adam says, a bit unimpressed, and I nod, fighting a giggle. The statueispretty small.
"I thought it would be bigger," Adam points out, and I can’t hold my smile back anymore.
"I thought so too when I came here for the first time." I take out my phone and hand it to him. "Here, can you take a picture of me with it, quickly, please? I’ve never managed to get one in all the years because it was always so crowded."
Not that I’d have a problem queuing but taking tourist pictures is awkward enough – I didn’t want to take one if it meant a crowd of people staring at me while I do so.
I strike a quick pose next to the statue, and he takes the picture. Then he motions for me to do the same for him, and I oblige all too happily.
"Come on." He beckons me closer after I’ve taken the shot.
And when I'm close enough, he grabs the phone out of my hands and lifts it for a selfie.
"Scoot in, Beautiful. We're taking a picture together." And then he's taken the picture before I can even tease him about men his age knowing what a selfie is. I barely manage to smile in time, but when he takes a look at it, he hums happily before stowing his phone away again.
As we walk over to the infamous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, his hand finds mine with ease, his warm fingers enveloping mine as we take a slow stroll.
"God, I don’tlove waking up this early, but I love Shibuya at this time of the day," I say with a grin. The Scramble Crossing doesn’t have much of a scramble going on currently.
"The only thing I hadn't considered, though," I add, "is that cafes aren't open yet. Let’s find some coffee."
Turns out, convenience stores are really the only stores open at this time of the day – most coffee shops are going to take another hour until they open their doors.
“Have you ever considered that you might be addicted to caffeine?”
“Drinking a lot of coffee is a trait, not an addiction,” I scold him playfully and demonstratively take a sip.
God, this is good. Still convenience store coffee, but for a convenience store coffee, it’s great. When I open my eyes, I see him stare at me with an unhappy expression.
"Suuure," he says with his eyebrows raised high, and I reach out my hand to smooth the wrinkle between them out with my index finger.
"Don't frown so much. Someday the wrinkles will stay." I grin at him and yelp when he playfully slaps my butt in response.
