Past the ticket gates, Spencer Walther emerges from the subway, lugging what looks like a large laundry bag.

“Welcome! Welcome to Tokyo!” I squeal, hopping up and down as he deposits his ticket and squeezes past the barrier. “Is this...?”

“Yep, meet Kitsune,” Walther says. Inside the black pouch, through a mesh window, I can see a red mameshiba — the toy version of Japan’s Shiba dog breed — sitting still and stoic as a garden statue. One brown eye rolls toward me imperiously. “She’s ready to be out of her travel bag now.”