An elevator button factory in Japan allows visitors to test its vast collection of buttons by pressing no less than 1,000 of them on a specially designed display.
Shimada Denki Seisakusho is a specialized manufacturer of custom-made elevator buttons and arrival lights based in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1933, the factory is a piece of Japanese industrial history and conducts guided tours for people interested in its early beginnings and the way it makes its vast array of elevator buttons. It’s a fascinating visit, I’m sure, but the highlight of the tour has to be the ‘1,000 Buttons’ display, which, as the name suggests, is made up of rows upon rows of different elevator buttons that light up when pressed.
Photo: Shimada Denki Seisakusho
Can you imagine visiting an elevator button factory and not getting to press a single elevator button? Well, that’s not something that you have to worry about at Shimada Denki Seisakusho, as here they literally let you press every single button made in the company’s 88-year history.
The 1,000 Buttons display went viral on Japanese social media this week after the company’s Twitter account published a photo of it. The metallic panel is designed primarily as an attraction for juvenile visitors, as pressing any of the buttons courses it to light up, encouraging kids to press them all, or at least all they can reach. However, adults confessed the urge to press every one of the buttons as well, and I have to admit it’s pretty tempting.
Photo: Shimada Denki Seisakusho
I don’t know what it is with pressing buttons, especially nice ones that click softly and light up, but 1,000 Buttons has been the talk of Japanese Twitter this week, with people declaring that they plan to head to the Shimada Denki Seisakusho factory as soon as possible to indulge in a button-pressing marathon.
The unusual display became so popular that news outlets started contacting the button factory about it. Apparently, it consists of over 1,000 (1,048, to be exact) differently designed elevator buttons, of which the “Never Press” one is the most pressed. That figures, I guess.
Photo: Shimada Denki Seisakusho
Shimada Denki Seisakusho started organizing tours in 2018, but the 1,000 Buttons attraction was created in the summer of last year, as a way to engage with users. Since Shimada is a B2B company, it rarely got to hear people’s opinions about its products, and the impressive button display gave users the chance to interact with all the buttons.
The idea for the button wall was inspired by parents’ experience with elevators. Apparently, many complained that they often had problems getting their kids to stop pressing the illuminated elevator buttons, and this inspired designers to create a special place where kids could push the buttons as much as they wanted.
Unfortunately, if you plan on checking out the 1,000 Buttons display for yourself, you have some waiting to do, as Shimada Denki Seisakusho already has tour reservations until June next year.
