After the mandatory rest period, racers are off to Osaka, Japan. (One of our favorite cities!) Teams must jockey for position and book the best flights out of Mumbai. TK and Rachel find the first flight out at 6:55 pm, but it's not the first flight due to arrive in Osaka. The three other teams book a later flight, but arrive in Osaka first. Ron and Christina seem to have a slight edge because we learn that Chris spent half a year in Japan and is basically fluent in Japanese.
In Osaka, racers must make their way via taxi to Kishiwada Castle, a 16th Century castle that is now a museum. The clue there directs them to Noda Station to find a janitor dressed in Amazing Race red and yellow. Once there, he will hand them the next clue, which reveals the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one of the team members must become a taxi driver and drive passengers five miles through the congested one-way streets of Osaka to the city's Central Post Office. Once racers have dropped off their passengers, they receive their clue, but must drive the taxi back to Noda Station before opening it.
This is a particularly awesome challenge since just about everyone is nervous about driving in downtown Osaka, especially with all the one-way streets, illegible street signs and no way to tell how to get to the post office. Even better, team members must wear white gloves and a traditional taxi-driver's hat, which makes the girls look hot, and makes Nick look dopey. With all that open mouth breathing, he looks just like that Basset Hound, Droopy Dog.
We're not sure where the Amazing Race producers found the passengers willing to be driven by the team members, but they sure looked relieved when they got to the destination! Getting back to Noda Station is equally as challenging for Nick, who gets completely lost on the way. Jennifer and Christina manage to get back quickly.
The Detour is next, and teams have the choice of Sense of Touch or Sense of Smell. In Touch, teams must engage in a remote controlled robot soccer battle using cell phone touch controls and score two goals in order to receive their next clue. In Smell, teams make their way to a flower shop that sells only artificial flowers, and, using only their noses, find a single real flower among all the fakes.
Nate and Jennifer hit the flower shop first, with Ron and Christina right behind them. Nate and Jennifer find their flower first, but Christina and Ron are a close second, and actually get a taxi first. Teams are headed now to the Pit Stop at Tempozan Park. Nick and Don try the robot challenge, which has to be the worst possible challenge to make Gramps do. Nick is a pilot, so working the remote is no problem, but Don has trouble with seatbelts, remember? Not to worry, though, Gramps does have and ounce or two of cool in him. After all, he did get that tattoo.
THE PIT STOP
It was Battle Taxi in the race to the pit stop! Would Jennifer and Nate's screeching actually make the taxi go faster? Would Christina's mastery of the language push them into the lead? In the end, Ron and Christina nabbed first place and they each won an electric car. Nate and Jennifer came in second and were completely disgusted with themselves. Third place went to Nick and Don who managed to make it all the way without having a fainting spell or collapsing on account of old age. We are all rewarded with at least one more episode watching these two bumble their way across the globe. Close that mouth, Droopy Dog!
Remember TK and Rachel? Their first flight out plan backfired, and now that are waaaaaay behind all the other teams. They're more than three hours behind--but like the "never say die" racers they are, they complete each and every task, arriving at the Pit Stop in the dark. Normally, don't the producers just send them straight to the Pit Stop?
Well, no surprises here: This is the last of two non-elimination legs. TK and Rachel now have to complete the dreaded Speed Bump, an extra task that only they have to do. They are still in the race, but certainly find themselves on the chopping block.
NEXT WEEK
Don't miss all the racing action as we head into the final elimination to reveal the final three teams who will race to the end for one million dollars. It looks like the gloves come off, and we may be in for some good old-fashioned trickery and deceit. Be sure to join us next week as we get closer to the big finish!
