World’s Shortest Escalator in Japan with only 5 Steps

In Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, the city of Kawasaki is home to a department store with a basement featuring a unique five-step escalator that takes only a few seconds to ride. This incredibly compact escalator has been certified by the Guinness World Records as the shortest escalator in the world.

According to the Guinness World Records, this escalator is located in the Okadaya More’s Shopping Mall in Kawasaki City. It was installed by Hitachi in October 1989 and has a vertical height of only 83.4 centimeters.

When this department store opened in 1989, designers wanted to connect its basement level to a nearby underground shopping center, but the heights of these two levels did not completely align. Despite the slight height difference, they decided to install a traditional staircase and a small escalator.

This small escalator ended up becoming the shortest escalator in the world. With just five steps, it functions perfectly. About eight years ago, it was changed from moving downward to moving upward. Riding it takes only about five to six seconds to go from the lower level to the upper level.

However, because there is also a nearby traditional five-step staircase next to this escalator, some people may choose to use the stairs directly, which is faster. This escalator seems to be almost redundant in this case.

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On the other hand, the longest escalator in the world is the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System in Hong Kong. It was inaugurated in 1993 and spans a total length of 800 meters, serving as a pedestrian transport system connecting the commercial district of Central on Hong Kong Island with the Mid-Levels area.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board notes that the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System consists of 16 one-way automatic escalators and three one-way pedestrian walkways that can change direction. It starts from Queen’s Road Central, connects to the Central Market Elevated Walkway, runs through various streets in Central, and leads to Conduit Road.

During busy morning hours, the escalator changes direction: it operates in a downward direction from 6:00 am to 10:00 am and in an upward direction from 10:20 am to midnight.

Apart from its daily commute convenience, this escalator is also a renowned tourist attraction in Hong Kong and has served as a filming location for numerous movies, including director Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express.”

The Taiwanese branch of the Finnish escalator manufacturing company KONE states on its website that the world’s first stair-step automatic escalator was created by American inventor Charles Seeberger, who introduced it at the Paris World Exposition in 1900, winning top honors.

Over the past 100 years, escalators have undergone numerous improvements. Not only have they varied in length, but also in design. Though their styles and appearances differ, the fundamental function of assisting people in moving up and down remains the same.

Today’s escalators are typically made of a combination of steel, aluminum, and plastic. While some older components may be made of wood, this is less common as wood is less durable. Durability is crucial for escalators, primarily because they generate an average lifting force of 4,500 kilograms and are in continual motion.

In most retail stores and airport facilities, escalators operate at a speed of 0.5 meters per second, while the speed of underground escalators may be higher, around 0.75 meters per second.

On average, escalators in the United States transport around 3 million people annually. With approximately 35,000 escalators in the country, this means they transport over 105 billion passengers each year.

Escalator accidents do occur, with 64% being caused by passenger behavior, such as being engrossed in their phones or not paying attention, leading to loss of balance and accidents. Despite these incidents, escalators remain an effective tool for transporting people from point A to point B.