Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — A 107.6-meter beef kebab made on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest ever.

Measuring up: An official from Guinness World Records verifies the length of a record-setting kebab made with local beef Sunday on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture. KYODO

At a barbecue "challenge" intended to promote the Ishigaki beef brand, some 1,700 people gathered Sunday at the planned site of a new airport to pierce thousands of pieces of diced beef with a long metal skewer, before grilling and eating it. The process, which started shortly after noon and was completed at around 5 p.m., was observed by a Guinness World Records official.

The participants overcame a broken-skewer incident by welding the pieces together on the spot, leading to the presentation of a certificate from the Guinness official to Ishigaki Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama in the end.

"It was fun to work with so many people," said Karin Kokubukata, an 11-year-old Ishigaki resident.

"I was a little nervous when we transferred the kebab onto the roasting net because I thought it could fall apart," the fifth-grade student said.

Initially the organizers planned to make a 25.37-meter kebab to commemorate the scheduled opening day of the airport — March 7, 2013 (the 25th year in the Heisei Era) — believing it would set the world record.

However, three days before the event the residents of the subtropical island were informed by Guinness that a new mark of 97.5 meters was set in Lebanon in August, and they decided to take a huge leap and go beyond 100 meters.

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