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A Special Visit to Woonsocket’s Hachi Statue and Introducing The Hachi Trail (Map below)
After seeing “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” in late 2013, Sira Sudhindranath was curious to see the real-world town that portrayed “Bedridge” where the film story took place.
Using Google and Bing Maps, he located the train depot at Woonsocket and other film locations. That’s how the Hachi Trail (www.facebook.com/thehachitrail) was created and today, it’s a popular local destination for tourists and Hachi friends alike.
Along with help from the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Sudhindranath gathered 12 families and 17 of their canine friends to visit the film location. They call themselves the “I Luv my Coton de Tulear” group. Welcomed by Oscar Hancock of American Beauty Signworks in Woonsocket and Donna Houle of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council members hosted the enthusiastic group who came around the United States — California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.
Their goal? To visit the Hachiko statue and walk the locations where Hachi: A Dog’s Tale was filmed.
Not only did they learn about the history of Woonsocket, they enjoyed lunch at Palace Pizza, followed by a snack of hot dogs and coffee milk (the official state drink of coffee syrup and milk) from New York Lunch at Market Square.
“The weather was good and we all had a very enjoyable tour of the movie locations, plus some excellent food,” said Sudhindranath.
Sira Sudhindranath, daughter Karishma, wife Malavika and dog Zack visit Woonsocket train depot.
The “I Luv my Coton de Tulear” group love Hachi!
If you have a chance, visit this charming town to say “hi” to Hachi’s statue and be sure to walk the Hachi Trail!
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Great to see you and your group connecting with the Hachi spirit. I first saw the film a year ago it’s had a profound effect on me.
I’ve seen the movie 15 times and given it to about a 12 friends. I can’t seem to get enough scraps (pun intended) of information about the story, the cast, Akitas, etc.
I plan to visit Hachi in Woonsocket and possibly Shibuya someday. Thank you for sharing your visit with us.
Thanks for posting this. Here is the “Hachi Trail” that I designed – a tour through all the Hachi movie locations in Woonsocket.
The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council has created a
1-page handout of the tour and placed it on their Hachi website – http://hachikousa.com/guide.pdf
Sira,
This was a real labor of love, and I’m sure those of us who are fond of the story appreciate it so very much. I hope to one day be able to visit Woonsocket.
Thank you,
Ellen
Thanks Ellen. When you visit Woonsocket, don’t forget to dine at the New York Lunch diner on Main St. The moving “old Hachi” scene which shows the 10+ year old Hachi walking slowly, was filmed right in front of that diner.
FYI, the backdrop for the group photo shows Arnold St., which was used in a lot of scenes in the movie. On the left side of the road, at the next intersection (w/ Sayles St) is the location of Milton and Myra’s butcher shop. Along the right is where Parker walks up the road on the night he takes puppy Hachi home for the first time. And in the distance (where the large pine tree is) is where Hachi is later shown walking when he makes a trip from the station to the butcher shop.
Thanks, as always, for bringing to life all those memories!
It’s interesting that the Hachi Trail forms the 8-shape. Hachi also means the number eight in Japanese!
Loved the movie and town. Hope to visit Woonsocket some day.