A sushi chef at our Japanese restaurant in Seattle will usually build maki sushi in a roll of no more than about a foot or so in length. When people aspire to reach for the stars in the sushi-maker’s craft, amazing things happen. The current Guinness world record for the longest sushi roll ever built is a staggering 322 meters.

This record was recently claimed by the citizens of Kesennuma, Japan. After being devastated by the 2011 tsunami, this city sought to reclaim the record they once held from a Russian town as the worked to rebuild their community. The record-breaking roll was made with 1,700 sheets of nori seaweed, 550 kilograms of rice, and 85 kilograms of tuna, and took 1,300 participants to complete.