Introduction → Meet the Teams → Race Tracker → Leg 1 → Leg 2 → Leg 3 → Leg 4 → Leg 5 → Leg 6 → Leg 7 → Leg 8 → Leg 9 → Leg 10 → Leg 11 → Leg 12 → Leg 13 → Leg 14 → Leg 15
Leg 23.07 – “Hindi ka ba marunong mag-blow?”
Teams begin the 7th Leg of the Race at 7am at Sapporo’s Fushimi Inari Shrine. Teams must travel by bus to the Okurayama Ski Jump Station.
Upon arrival, teams must first check-in at the Forced Double U-Turn Vote Board. And then they will perform a ski jump before receiving the next clue.
That clue tells teams to take a bus to Sapporo Station where they will then hop on a train to Jozankei Onsen.
Teams will first purchase some eggs to lower into the hot springs. While the eggs are cooking, teams must search the town area for a “Kappa” holding an Amazing Race flag. Teams must figure out a “Kappa” is a water sprite that is said to be the guardian of Jozankei.
Once they’ve found a Kappa, they will take it with them as they head back to their eggs. While they soak their feet in the hot springs, they will eat the eggs before receiving the next clue.
Teams will now catch a bus back to Sapporo, walk to Sapporo Station and catch a JR train to Otaru Station in Otaru.
From Otaru Station, teams must make their way on foot to Sankaku Market where they will find the Double U-Turn Reveal Board and the Detour: Kani or Miso.
In Kani, teams must pick-up and then deliver 30 live crabs. But they must also transfer them into tanks to receive the next clue.
In Miso, teams must correctly identify the ingredients of miso ramen, invented here in Hokkaido. When they can identify the ingredients in Japanese and English, they must prepare some for cooking to receive the next clue.
Teams must now make their way on foot to this Traditional Glassmaker Studio where they will find the Road Block: Blow it so you won’t blow it.
For this Road Block, teams must correctly make a glass candle holder by glassblowing and then assemble it onto rope to receive the next clue.
That clue directs teams to make their way on foot to the Otaru Music Box Museum where they will find another Road Block: Who’s got a good ear? This is also the 12th Road Block of the Race and each team member can do no more than six Road Blocks for each 12. However, an Interchange is still allowed even if the team member completing the Road Block will result in their 7th of the 12.
For this Road Block, teams will choose a music box and then search the sprawling museum for a music box that is playing the exact same melody. When they find it, they can exchange it for the next clue.
Teams will now make their way on foot to the Otaru Canal to participate in the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival.
Here, teams must assemble a snow sculpture according to the Kappa that they found earlier in the Leg.
When completed, they must safely load the snow sculpture onto a boat in the canal and then row themselves to a marked spot along the Snow Light Path for its proper placement. When it has found its home for the festival, it will receive the next clue.
And that clue directs teams to make their way on foot to the Otaru Art Base, the Pit Stop for this Leg of the Race.
The first team to check-in here will win P200,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.
The last team to check-in here WILL be eliminated.
^Click here to follow the teams through the Leg!
“Director’s” Commentary
I think we’re 2-for-2 with these Japanese Legs! I think this could be a very exciting and competitive Leg. And with lots of drama too.
Again, like last Leg, I planned for teams to drive around. But once I did public transportation/taxis for last Leg, I had to do the same here. And when I looked into what options there were for public transportation, I realized it would be a challenge in and of itself. Which is great!
Taking buses and trains will definitely result in equalizers and separating teams too. I found that out when I was working on the Race Tracker for this Leg. It was actually very interesting to figure out the times and all that in a way that would work for the Leg. So that will of course be a source of drama and tension. The hope would be that even if teams fall behind by 30 minutes or an hour, the tasks will be able to level the teams again. Or at least, bring them closer back together. And I think the combination of tasks here, along with the U-Turn, could be enough to do that.
First up, we want to maximize the snow so why not do a ski jump. It’s a good Route Marker after the Pit Start at the Fushimi Inari Shrine. And also a good spot for the U-Turn vote.
Google scouting brought me to Jozankei Onsen. And I’ve definitely had onsens on my reserves list for a while. This is definitely a great location, but I wasn’t sure what kinds of tasks you could do at an onsen. The egg boiling I thought was interesting. It’s just something to fill out the Leg. And having teams walk around the town looking for Kappas is a good physical-ish task.
Originally, I think it would’ve been a 30-minute drive from Jozankei to Otaru. But with the public transportation, I had to get teams to return to Sapporo. The bus and then train transfer could really cause some drama, especially with teams racing to catch them.
I had other festivals I wanted to feature on these Japanese Legs, but I had to save them for next time. Google scouting led me to Otaru and the Snow Light Path Festival. So in having that as the sure end for this Leg, I was lucky enough to find other great tasks to feature in the city
The Detour is good. I think a typical market Detour and pair of tasks. I think they’re balanced enough as well. But not too difficult, especially for a U-Turn.
Glassblowing is an easy task to insert into the Race. And Otaru’s glassblowing is quite renowned. So that was great.
Then we have the Otaru Music Box Museum. As soon as I saw it, I just knew I had to do a needle in a haystack task. Yes, it’s kind of luck based. And at the end of a Leg?!?! But I think it’s in a good spot here to shake up the Race. The first six Legs have been quite straightforward. Do well, and you survive. And TAR involves as much luck as it does skill. So this is a good spot for a task like this.
TARPHDME seems to love having these “listen and find” tasks too. So it follows that tradition here. I think it’s a unique and interesting task. Definite potential for meltdowns!
Finally, the Snow Light Path Festival. I was afraid a task here might be too similar to the festival last Leg in Sapporo. So involving the Kappa and basically a puzzle plus the rowing should be a good and distinct task in comparison.
Having the Leg go into the evening after dark should be wonderful. Perfect for this task. And then perfect for the Pit Stop at the Otaru Art Base which looks really nice in the evening all lit up. Also refreshing to have an indoor Mat too.
Overall, I think this is another great Leg. Very long! Exhausting I guess. More than 12 hours long! But that’s TARPHDME for ya! No one-hour Legs here like on TARUS lolol