World's Shortest Escalator Is Adorable, Useless Phenomenon (VIDEO)

A "thing of beauty and magnificence," or a very silly addition to a Japanese department store?

An enthusiastic YouTube user traveled to Kawasaki, Japan, to take a (very) short, but apparently exhilarating, ride on the moving staircase in the basement of More's department store, which is located across the street from the JR Kawasaki train station, according to the video's description.

"I rode the escalator seven times," the narrator said, "and it was a glorious experience."

As Wired notes, the five-step escalator measures just 834 mm -- "a mere leap to anyone with a healthy pair of legs" -- making it what just might be the world's shortest escalator.

The video has already been viewed more than 439,000 times since it was uploaded to YouTube Wednesday. In addition, a post featuring the clip has garnered 6,600-plus upvotes on Reddit.

Escalator connoisseurs can check out WebUrbanist's comprehensive list of the world's longest, narrowest and spiraling escalators for further important moving staircase factoids.