Elevator Day

What Is Elevator Day?

Every November 10th is "Elevator Day" (エレベーターの日, Erebētā no Hi) in Japan. On November 10, 1890, Japan's first elevator (エレベーター, erebētā) was installed and began operation at the Ryōunkaku (凌雲閣, "Cloud-Piercing Pavilion") in Asakusa, Tokyo — a 12-story brick tower built as a tourist attraction and commercial venue. The electric elevator, manufactured by Otis Elevator Company of the United States, transported visitors up the 12 floors for a charge and offered a panoramic view of Tokyo that had never before been available to the public.

The Ryōunkaku: Tokyo's First Skyscraper

The Ryōunkaku — popularly known as "Asakusa Jūnikai" (浅草十二階, "Asakusa Twelve Stories") — was completed in 1890 as Tokyo's first Western-style high-rise building and, at 52 meters, its tallest structure. Designed by William Kinnimond Burton, a Scottish engineer working in Meiji Japan, it housed shops on its lower floors selling Japanese and foreign products, with upper floors offering increasingly dramatic views of the city. The Otis electric elevator — one of the first installed in Asia — made the upper floors accessible to visitors unwilling to climb the stairs and was a marvel of modern technology to Meiji Tokyoites.

Elevators and Japan's Urban Development

The Ryōunkaku elevator was a harbinger of the high-rise, elevator-dependent urbanism that would define Tokyo and Japan's other major cities in the 20th century. Japan has developed a sophisticated elevator industry — Mitsubishi Electric, Fujitec, Hitachi, and Toshiba are all major elevator manufacturers — and has been an innovator in elevator technology, including super-high-speed elevators for skyscrapers and advanced safety systems. Japan's elevator industry is also one of the world's most maintenance-focused, with strict inspection regimes and rapid-response maintenance services.

Elevator Safety in Japan

Japan places extraordinary emphasis on elevator safety. Following a 2006 elevator fatality caused by a maintenance failure in a Tokyo condominium, inspection and maintenance standards were tightened significantly. Japan's Building Standard Law mandates regular inspections, and major elevator manufacturers operate 24-hour service centers. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake triggered widespread elevator stoppage across eastern Japan as safety systems activated — an event that demonstrated both the importance of elevator infrastructure and the effectiveness of earthquake safety mechanisms.

Fun Facts

• World's fastest: The Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre elevator (manufactured by Hitachi, 2016) is the world's fastest at 20.5 m/s (73.8 km/h) — testament to Japanese elevator manufacturers' continued leadership in high-performance vertical transport technology.
• Ryōunkaku's end: The Ryōunkaku was damaged beyond repair in the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake and subsequently demolished — its brief 33-year lifespan encapsulating the transformation of Meiji Japan.