Daikanransha

Daikanransha by night

Daikanransha (大観覧車^?) is a 115-metre (377 ft) tall Ferris wheel at Palette Town in Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan.^[1]

When it opened in 1999, it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel. It has the same 100-metre (328 ft) diameter as its world record predecessor, the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, at Osaka, but its overall height is 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) greater. Daikanransha lost its world's tallest status to the 135-metre (443 ft) London Eye, which officially opened on December 31, 1999, but which did not open to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems.

It is the third tallest Ferris wheel ever constructed in Japan, and, since the closure of 120-metre (394 ft) Sky Dream Fukuoka in September 2009, the second tallest still in operation, after the 117-metre (384 ft) Diamond and Flower Ferris Wheel. It is also Asia's 10th tallest and the world's 12th tallest wheel ever constructed.

Daikanransha is visible from the central urban area of Tokyo, and passengers can see the Tokyo Tower, the twin-deck Rainbow Bridge, and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda, Asia's busiest), as well as central Tokyo, during their 16-minute ride. The Bōsō Peninsula and Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, can also be seen on a clear day,^[2][3] and at night the wheel is brightly lit by 120,000 neon tubes programmed to display multiple patterns in over 100 colours.^[4]

• 

  Daikanransha

• 

  Structure and cars

• 

  Odaiba skyline

Preceded by Tempozan Ferris Wheel

World's tallest Ferris wheel 1999-2000

Succeeded by London Eye

References

1. ^ daikanransha.com : パレットタウン大観覧車<大観覧車データ> (Japanese)
2. ^ japan-i.jp : Daikanransha (giant Ferris wheel)
3. ^ japanican.com : Dia to Hana no Daikanransha
4. ^ asiaone.com : Romance, shopping and stylish dining in Tokyo

External links

Media related to Palette Town Ferris Wheel at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (Japanese)

Coordinates: 35°37′35″N 139°46′56″E / 35.6263915°N 139.7822902°E / 35.6263915; 139.7822902