An hourglass in a museum in Japan's Shimane prefecture has been certified as the largest in the world by Guinness World Records, the media reported on Monday.
The device, which was set up in 1991, is 5.2 metres tall and has a one-metre diametre. It takes 365 days for one tonne of sand to drop from top to bottom, NHK news agency reported.
The previous Guinness record for an hourglass was held by a 1.06-metre-high device made by an American.
Visitors said they were impressed by the size of the hourglass.
A museum official said it is a local treasure and he wants more people to know about it.
