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By now the second flight has arrived a little over an hour later. Four of the five teams questionably decide to caravan to the next route marker. The odd team out is Zen & Justin, who use their own map and blow past these teams as they powwow on the side of the road. Mel & Mike convince Margie & Luke to just follow them and leave the cheerleaders and Goths behind. As Mike accurately points out, “It doesn’t make sense for all of us to caravan. We are the last four.”

At the dojo, Ron has chosen the Roadblock and it looks quite intricate. The person has to learn a Yabusame Ritual including the stretching form, holding a bow and arrow and then shooting a target while on a wooden horse that slowly spins around. We quickly learn than that the judges of their form and technique are sticklers for details.

Joining Ron in the dojo are Gary, Jen and Flight Time. Not long after they are in there, Zev & Justin have successfully caught up to them and Justin elects to do the Roadblock. Many, many failed attempts on the part of Ron, Gary and Flight are finally broken up by a successful completion by Jen, who is now in first place. Their clue directs them to drive themselves to a railway station in another town and find a Kintaro Statue. Even though he was the last one of this batch of teams to arrive, Justin finishes, putting them in second place but Gary follows him out the door, so second and third are only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, apart.

As they depart, Mel & Mike, Margie & Luke and Kent & Vyxsin are on the scene with the two sons and the boyfriend stepping up for the task. As they suit up, Flight Time with some style and flourish and Ron with no style or flourish complete the task. Also, our cowpokes have traveled south far enough and are at the dojo with only the cheerleaders not present and accounted for. Cord volunteers for the Roadbloack.

As for the Jaime & Cara, they are learning the hard way how not to drive in Japanese traffic. Jaime flirts too much with crossing the white line and clips the mirror of another car in traffic. It looks like very minor damage but instead accepting her offer of cash for the damages, the other driver decides the police need to be called to the scene. Not a lot to cheer about for Jaime & Cara. (Maybe I should save that one for the end of the leg in case the girls are eliminated.) It’s commercial break time and word from our sponsor...Scientology???

Back at the scene of the crime, the police are there and have resolved the accident issue. The girls are on the way.

Meanwhile, Zev & Justin and Gary & Mallory are the first ones at the Kintaro Statue. The clue for this leg’s Detour is for Purity or Luck. For Purity, the teams have to learn a Shinto prayer with movements and then stand under a waterfall with 45 degree temperature waters coming straight off Mt. Fuji. For Luck, they have to strip down to their skivvies and search a giant mud pit for a frog the size of your hand. To make it more challenging they will be pelted with mud by onlookers. Once again, I would opt for the task that doesn’t require luck and this time it is even explicitly in the name of the task. Going against my wishes, Zev & Justin and Gary & Mallory go for Luck.

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