Nihonium Street

Wako City, near Tokyo, plans to name a stretch of footpath in the city 'nihonium', following the formal approval of the name by an international organization.

Nihonium has become the official name of the 113th atomic element created 12 years ago at the research institute RIKEN. The name is a combination of "Nihon," meaning Japan, with the general suffix "-ium" for metallic elements. It is the first time for an atomic element to be named by researchers from any Asian country.
Wako city, where RIKEN is located, decided to mark the breakthrough by naming a sidewalk outside the building.
The sidewalk measures one point one kilometer from Wako City Station of the Tobu Tojo Line to the Riken Institute.
The city plans to build a monument near the station.
The city will also install street plates along the footpath, naming all atomic elements from hydrogen to nihonium.

As of early June, only 30 plates from hydrogen to zinc have been inlaid.  After the completion, you will be able to trace from the 1st to the 113th elements.

This project reminds the webmaster of the street in Giengen, Germany, where a teddy bear's footprints lead visitors from the DB (Deutsche Bahn) station to Die Welt von Steiff.

 

For more information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?=GnCh-L5bRcE

itaintmagic.riken.jp/whats-up-with-us/nihonium-street