by Gina Scarpa

 

Tonight, on The Amazing Race, teams head from Broken Hill to Sydney in order to book a flight and fly nearly 5,000 miles to Japan. The direct flight, through Qantas, arrives at 6:15am and Jet and Cord, Jen and Kisha, Ron and Christina, Gary and Mallory, and Flight Time and Big Easy secure seats. Kent and Vyxsin, Jaime and Cara, Margie and Luke, Mel and Mike, and Zev and Justin opt for a flight through Cathay Pacific that has a layover, but arrives 15 minutes earlier.

 

Any Amazing Race fan knows that a layover is always a big risk and this one doesn't pay off - they arrive an hour and 20 minutes late! Qantas arrives on time and teams find out they need to head to Yabusame Dojo to get their next clue, a Road Block. One player must learn a Yabusame ritual and perform it in front of their master; then get on a wooden horse, shoot an arrow, and hit a target.

 

Jen finishes first, followed by Justin (who made up a ton of time), Gary, Flight Time, and Ron. On their way to the Road Block, Jaime and Cara sideswipe a car and take off the mirror of a man's car. He decides to call the police, costing them precious time, which really pisses Jaime off. She can't figure out why the man just can't handle it through insurance... of course she can't.

 

Next, teams head to the small city of Minami-ashigara and locate the Kintaro Statue to find a Detour and make a choice - Prayer of Purity or Frog of Luck. In Prayer of Purity, teams participate in a traditional cleansing ritual then stand under a freezing cold waterfall. In Frog of Luck, teams must search for a frog, buried in mud, while people throw mud at them. Oh yeah, they also have to wear diapers!

 

Just about everyone choose Frog of Luck but Ron and Christina and Flight Time and Big Easy opt for Prayer of Purity. Once the Globetrotters finish, they accidentally grab Christina's fanny pack. Realizing their mistake, they hurriedly put it inside, where they had to change for the ritual. Luckily, Ron finds it inside while changing and they avoid a potentially bad situation.

 

Teams head to Kurihama and find the monument commemorating Commodore Perry's Landing, which is the pit stop for this leg of the race. Zev and Justin, for the second leg in a row, arrive first and win a trip for two to Costa Rica. As they said, they're in it to win it!

Teams finish in the following order: Gary and Mallory, Ron and Christina, Jen and Kisha, Flight Time and Big Easy, Jet and Cord, Kent and Vyxsin, Margie and Luke, Jaime and Cara, and Mel and Mike.

 

Flight Time and Big Easy were originally in third place but Ron and Christina filed a complaint with Phil, resulting in a 30 minute penalty and 5th place. The cold weather became too much for Mel and Mike, who bowed out of the challenge. Mel gave a valiant effort but the physical demands of the race were too much for him and perhaps it's best that they left when they did.  They'll definitely be missed...

 

The Amazing Race airs Sundays at 8/7c on CBS.

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

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