Tokyo, Oct 28 (IANS) The iconic Hachiko statue in front of Tokyo’s Shibuya Station was covered up on Saturday morning to discourage people from visiting the popular area amid heightened caution around Halloween.
Tall barriers were placed around the popular dog statue, commonly used as a meeting point, and will remain there until Wednesday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.
Following South Korea’s fatal crowd crush last year in Seoul, officials of Shibuya Ward urged people, including foreign tourists, not to come to Shibuya to celebrate Halloween, worrying that large crowds of revelers may visit the area for Halloween as Japan no longer has any coronavirus restrictions.
“We hope visitors will cooperate and help us prevent an accident from occurring by avoiding standing around the station or in the middle of the street,” said a ward office official.
The intersection by Shibuya’s train station, which is known as “scramble crossing” due to the large number of pedestrians typically attempting to cross, has become a popular destination for residents and tourists on Halloween, drawing tens of thousands of costumed young people every year.
–IANS
int/svn
