Ten Japanese World Records
May 18th, 2008 by Ad Blankestijn
In the past I have written a post about “lists of three bests” in Japan, based on a huge list I found on the Japanese Wikipedia. But also the English Wikipedia has a page called “List of Records of Japan.”
It contains a mix of both national records and world records. I have picked out 10 of the last category:
- Japan has the longest wooden bridge in the world, the Hōrai Bridge in Shizuoka, 897m.
- I am sure everyone already knew that Horyuji Temple is the oldest wooden building in the world (7th c.).
- The longest bench in the world stands in Shika, on the Noto Peninsula and measures 460m.
- Another no-brainer for old Japan-hands: the station with the most users in the world is of course Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, with 3.22 million users per day.
- The longest railway tunnel in the world is the Seikan Tunnel, 53.85 km, connecting Honshu and Hokkaido. This line also features the station with the lowest altitude (Yoshioka Kaitei Station, -149.5m. and only accessible from the railway line).
- The longest suspension bridge in the world is the Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge, 1,991m, between Akashi near Kobe and Awaji Island.
- The newspaper with the largest circulation in the world is the Yomiuri Shimbun, 14,323,781 copies. (Is that something to be proud of in this internet age?)
- The oldest hotel in the world: Hōshi Ryokan in Komatsu (Ishikawa), opened in 717. It is also the world’s oldest continuously operating company after the liquidation of temple builder Kongō Gumi in 2006. (Founded in 578, Kongo Gumi is still the company with the longest history in the world!)
- The largest tomb in the world: Nintokuryō Tumulus (Sakai, Osaka) 46ha. (5th c.)
- The tallest statue in the world: Ushiku Daibutsu (Ushiku, Ibaraki) 120m. (20th c. and decidedly not the most beautiful!).
[I found the Wikipedia article thanks to Watashi to Tokyo]
