The world's tallest tower and Japan's biggest new landmark, the Tokyo Skytree, opened to the public on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Nearly 8,000 visitors were expected to take high-speed elevators up to the observation decks of the 634-meter (2,080-foot) tower to mark its opening. Some reportedly waited in line more than a week to get the coveted tickets for a panoramic view, though Tuesday ended up being cloudy in Tokyo.
Tokyo SkyTree World Tallest Tower
Skytree is recognized by Guinness World Records as the tallest tower, beating out the CantonTower in China, which is 600 meters (1,968 1/2 feet). Guinness lists the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at 828 meters (2,716 feet 6 inches), as the world's tallest building.
The world's tallest structure is Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which stands 828 meters (2,717 feet). That's in a different category because it's a skyscraper, not a tower.
The Skytree will serve as a broadcast tower for television and radio, along with being a tourist attraction. It replaces the 333-meter-tall (1,092 1/2-foot-tall) Tokyo Tower — a symbol of Japan's capital since 1958 — as the broadcast hub. Michihiko Katsuragi, 27, has watched construction of the tower since moving to the area in 2009, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily News.
"I felt like I was growing up at the same time," he was quoted as saying.
Kazutaka Hasegawa got in line on May 16 and was the first visitor to the Skytree on Tuesday, according to the Mainichi Daily News.
World Tallest tower Opens on May 22 2012 for Public
"As a resident of Sumida Ward, I feel a sense of satisfaction in being the first person to ascend the tower," Hasegawa was quoted as saying.
The Skytree has two observation decks, at 350 meters (1,148 feet) and at 450 meters (1,476 feet).
The upper deck can hold 900 people at a time and the lower deck 2,000, according to a report from the Japan Daily Press. Only 6,000 tickets to the decks will be sold daily and they are sold online through a lottery system, the report said
Burj Khalifa World Tallest Building 
.The Skytree complex, which also includes a shopping area, was expected to draw about 200,000 visitors on Tuesday, according to the Daily Press.
 In 2014, China is expected to complete the Shanghai Tower, which at 2,073 feet will be the country's tallest building, and the world's tallest after the Burj Dubai.
11:00 AM / 0 comments / Read more

What do you do to name yourself in Guinness World Records?  A 22-year-old Assam Police constable was Tuesday officially entered in the Guinness World Records as the longest barefoot runner, having run 156.2 km in 24 hours.
Abhijit Baruah, who hails from Jorhat in Upper Assam, created the feat January 30 this year when he started his run at 3.56 p.m. and ended it at 3.56 p.m. the following day, covering a total of 156.2 km distance.
On May 28 last year, Abhijit -- also a black belt in karate and kickboxing -- had run 150 km in 26 hours and 31 minutes and entered his name in the Limca Book of Records.
Chandrasekhar Tiwari, one of the Indian representatives of the Guinness World Records, supervised the run by Abhijit.
 "The Guinness World Records authority in India called me up and informed that I am officially certified for the record. I am very happy to have scored the record. It was my dream from early years to do something great and today I have done that," said Abhijit while talking to IANS on Tuesday.


The Assamgovernment announced an award of Rs.2 lakh to Abhijit, and the cheque for the amount was handed over to him by Congress MLA from Jorhat constituency Rana Goswami Tuesday.

On January 30, about 100 volunteers including those from district administration and other clubs in Jorhat kept sweeping the 10-km stretch on the National Highway (NH) 37 in Jorhat district where Abhijit completed his run.
The young man had bagged several gold, silver and bronze medals in many national-level martial arts competitions.Hope you too will try something new so that you can  be in news. 
7:46 AM / 0 comments / Read more