This Is the Smallest Park in the World—and It’s the Size of Just 4 Pieces of Paper

Verdant grass, stone carvings, and a delightful bench to relax on. By all means, the green space in the small town of Nagaizumi, Japan—about a two-hour drive southwest of Tokyo—has all the elements of an idyllic park … except for the fact that it totals about 2.58 square feet.

Measuring in at the size of four standard pieces of U.S. paper, this small patch atop a square of bricks in a residential neighborhood not far from Nagaizumi's town hall.

And just last week, it set a Guinness World Records as the smallest park in the world.

Despite its tiny stature, the miniature park has long been a local favorite, and townspeople will often stop to sit on the bench, while travelers love to be photographed with it—the town has already been using the "world's smallest" moniker, before it was officially announced on Feb. 25.

“We want to continue maintaining the park with the community, as well as creating a landscape that is more social media friendly, so that even more people will find attractions of our town,” Shuji Koyama, a team leader on Nagaizumi's construction management division, said in a statement to Guinness World Records.

Koyama said the idea for the park first came about in 1988 when another staff member traveled to Mill Ends Park (measuring 3.14 square feet in size) in Portland, Oregon, which, at the time, held the title for the world's smallest park.

So, when they came back to Japan and saw the empty patch alongside the road, they realized it was Nagaizumi's chance to go even smaller.

To make it official, professional surveyors were brought in, and data points were gathered according to Guinness World Records’ standards—and now, Nagaizumi has a new (adorable) standard for microparks around the globe.

Ref: This Is the Smallest Park in the World—and It’s the Size of Just 4 Pieces of Paper