Japan Is Now Home to the World’s Smallest Park

Most of us are used to visiting vast national parks, from Rocky Mountain to Big Bend. It’s easy to get lost in their beauty while marveling at the wildlife and greenery. But you wouldn’t have to worry about losing your way in the tiniest park in the world; its area is the same as just two A3 sheets of paper.

Guinness World Records recently dubbed a Japanese park the smallest on Earth. It’s located in Nagaizumi Town, a central prefecture of Shizuoka that’s about an hour away from Tokyo. The unnamed park is only 0.24 square meters (about 2.5 square feet). You might think the park is too puny for decorations, but you’re mistaken. It’s complete with a bench, grass, and engraved stones. 

This park wasn’t always the smallest in the world. Portland’s Mill Ends Park previously held that title. In fact, Oregon’s little landmark inspired a construction management worker in Nagaizumi Town to build the park, as per Guinness World Records. The main goal was to cover unused space on the road, but the staff member also wanted to create a park that rivaled Mill’s End. 

Upon its completion in 1988, Nagaizumi Town unofficially named the park the smallest on Earth, but it never got proper recognition—until recently. Town officials eventually hired a professional surveyor to measure the tiny piece of land and ensure the park followed the Guinness World Record guidelines. Afterward, the organization officially labeled Nagaizumi Town’s park as a record-breaker.  

On the other end of the spectrum is the world’s largest park: the Northeast Greenland National Park. The gigantic destination is a whopping 972,000 kilometers (about 375,291 square miles), stretching from part of Greenland’s peninsula called Liverpool Land to the northern island, Odaaq. For perspective, that‘s about 77 times bigger than Yellowstone National Park, which spans parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

Read More About Parks: