Hachiko, the loyal Akita Inu dog who waited for his master at Tokyo’s Shibuya Station, would have turned 100 this November. A well-known Hollywood movie and a bronze statue outside the station both tell his story.

Stephanie Carletti, who is 20 and from Bergamo in northern Italy, will go to Japan for the first time this summer to see places related to Hachiko, such as the Aoyama Cemetery, the Shibuya neighborhood, and the National Museum of Nature and Science. When Hachiko was a baby, a professor at Tokyo Imperial University named Hidesaburo Ueno took her in. His great-great-grandchildren, Kai Ueno, 25, and Shin, 21, are proud that the dog their grandfather used to have is still loved.

Carletti sent an email to the prefectural administration after finding out that an Ueno grandchild lived in the area. Kazuto wrote back to the Italian fan and started writing back and forth with her. Kai is excited to meet Carletti when she visits Japan.