Japan creates unique giant zipper boat to look like it's opening the water
- This boat was created for a design contest
- It looks like a zipper because the idea is to ‘open up’ the river as it sails
- It actually works, but there’s a minor catch
Published on May 19, 2025 at 3:16 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on May 15, 2025 at 1:21 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A designer in Japan has created a wonderfully weird zipper boat, and now it’s been spotted sailing along the river in Tokyo.
It was created for a design contest and it literally looks like a zipper.
It’s called the Opening The River, Zip Fastener Ship.
It actually works, but there’s one minor catch.
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The ship is designed to look exactly like a zip fastener, the sort of thing we use to zip up our jackets or pants.
It looks unlike any other vessel in the world, and what makes this quirky project even wilder is that it’s real, unlike so many superyachts and concepts that only exist on paper.
Obviously, and dare we say unfortunately, there’s not going to be a production run, but the one-off prototype they built is real, not a 3D render, and it works.
The only catch is you can’t actually sail it like a normal boat, but you can use it as a radio-controlled model.
Interestingly, since it has a proper deck, you can still do it from inside the ship.
The photographs and video you see here, for example, were taken while the zipper boat was ‘opening up’ the Sumida River, the main river that flows through Tokyo in Japan.
This brings us on to the whole point and theme of the project.
Yasuhiro Suzuki, the man who designed the ship, wanted to make it look like the ship could ‘open up’ the water.
Despite looking a bit funky, the boat is actually quite sophisticated.
It is made from a blend of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, ethanol-based compound, foam, and recycled fishing nets, which means it’s lightweight and also environmentally friendly, which as we all know is always a big deal these days.
The boat is also a lot larger than it looks in the pictures.
It’s more than 10 meters (32 feet) long and three meters (9.8 feet) wide.
This isn’t the first time we’ve come across ships and yachts with crazy shapes.
Not that long ago, Bugatti unveiled a speedboat that looks like a supercar on water.
And then of course there’s Saudi Arabia’s turtle-shaped megayacht.
The zipper boat may not be the most luxurious, but it’s definitely one of the most fascinating boats out there.
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