Episode #1209

A MAJOR MISTAKE
Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 1:25pm, dating couple TK & Rachel opened their clue instructing them to fly almost 4,000 miles to Osaka, Japan. When they landed, they had to travel by taxi to Kishiwada Castle and search the grounds for their next clue.

With a seven minute lead over second place grandson and grandfather, Nick & Don, TK & Rachel opted to seek information at a nearby hotel. Sitting down with an agent at the travel desk of the hotel, the dating couple determined that the earliest flight to Osaka, Japan departed at 6:55pm. TK noted, "Unless there's something not on the Internet, I think we're doing alright."

Meanwhile, two Teams in separate locations arrived at a different conclusion than TK & Rachel. At the airport, Nick & Don found that the earliest flight to Osaka left Mumbai at 8:30pm. This information appeared to be corroborated by father and daughter Ron & Christina, who found an Air India flight leaving at 8:25pm. When last place dating couple Nate & Jen arrived at the airport, they also booked the flight that departed Mumbai at 8:30pm.

As TK & Rachel flew to their first connection in New Delhi, the other three Teams began to speculate and wonder where the dating couple disappeared to. When Christina suggested TK & Rachel got a jump on them, Nate replied, "Don't always assume the best. They could be off doing something stupid right now." Landing in New Delhi without seeing a trace of the other Teams, TK & Rachel slowly felt a sense of dread creep into them. TK noted, "Something just doesn't feel right about this. We could be way out in front or we could be dead last. You just never know."

TAKING A RIDE
Landing in Osaka, Japan at 2:30pm, dating couple Nate & Jen took an early lead out of the airport as Jen commented, "It's about time we start kicking these old teams' asses." Arriving at Kishiwada Castle, the dating couple opened their clue to discover they needed to travel by taxi to the subway station known as JR Kanjosan Noda Station, where the Amazing Race cleaning man would hand them their next clue.

Still maintaining a comfortable lead over Ron & Christina and Nick & Don, dating couple Nate & Jen arrived at JR Kanjosan Noda Station in first place to find a Road Block. In it, one team member had to put on a hat and gloves as local cabbies do and transport a Japanese couple five miles through a maze of confusing, often one way streets to a specified address. They could not invite a local to lead them or join them in the car and the couple could not help them. Upon arrival at the correct address, the couple would hand them their next clue. However, the drivers would also have to make their way back to their teammate before they read what was inside.

BACKSEAT DRIVER IN FRONT
As Jen donned her hat and gloves and checked herself out in the rearview mirror, Ron & Christina arrived at the station and opted for Christina to perform the Road Block because she could speak Japanese. As soon as they opened the clue, their faces fell because the advantage Christina held from speaking the local language was completely negated by her poor driving skills and sense of direction. After taking several minutes to become familiar with the dashboard with her passengers looking on in confusion, Christina rolled away from the curb remarking, "I don't have a car. I use public transportation so this is ridiculous that I'm doing this."

As Jen and Christina both struggled to navigate through the congested and confusing streets of Osaka, Nick chose to drive for his Team after Don admitted he was feeling tired. Before getting into car, Nick asked a man for directions. He then turned the ignition and rolled away. He commented, "Luckily, I've been driving in Ireland a little bit so I've got some experience driving on the other side of the road." As a counterpoint after hearing horns blasted at her direction, Christina noted, "I don't think [speaking] Japanese helps that much. Driving skills help more."

All three drivers realized the desired destination they needed to reach was the post office. Jen overshot it and had to back track while Nick, trapped in a maze of one way streets, also had to travel back around to reach his goal. Meanwhile, Christina spotted a mail truck and followed it in hopes of finding the post office. In a tight race between the amateur cabbies, Jen arrived first and screamed in excitement as she received her next clue from her grateful passengers. While the drive back to the subway station proved to be almost as lively, Jen narrowly edged out Christina once again with Nick still trailing in third after becoming lost. Opening their clue, the Teams learned they needed to travel by taxi to Kita-mido Temple, a 16th Century Buddhist temple.

FLOWER POWER
Still keeping their lead and seeing a potential victory finally in their grasp, Nate & Jen arrived at Kita-mido Temple as TK & Rachel finally landed in Japan. Opening their clue, Nate & Jen encountered a Detour and had to choose between Sense of Touch and Sense of Smell. In Sense of Touch, Teams made their way on foot to the Shimojima Building. Once there, they had to use miniature robots which are controlled by cell phones to play a game of soccer against two robotic defenders. Once each Team Member had scored a goal the referee would give them their next clue. At first, playing a game with robots may seem like fun, but accurately controlling the mechanical creatures could become frustrating, and Teams without a delicate sense of touch could wind up kicking themselves instead of goals. In Sense of Smell, Teams made their way to the Saera Flower Shop, where only artificial flowers were sold. Once there, they had to use their noses, and only their noses, to identify one real flower hidden among thousands of artificial ones in the two story flower shop. When they found a real flower, the Shop Owner would give them their next clue. The task of finding real flowers in this store could initially seem impossible, but only the real flowers had a scent, and Teams who could put their olfactory senses to good use might surprise themselves by quickly sniffing out a winner.

Deciding to do Sense of Smell after finding a local to lead them there, dating couple Nate & Jen entered the flower shop minutes ahead of second place Ron & Christina and instantly realized how difficult the task might be with the thousands upon thousands of colorful flowers to sniff. Jen instructed Nate to "open your nasal cavities" as the pair began to inhale in search of the few real buds. When Ron & Chris arrived at the shop, they opted to begin on the second floor so as not to "retrace" Nate & Jen's steps on the first floor.

ROBO-GOAL
As the two Teams continued their sniffing, grandson and grandfather Nick & Don decided to battle against robotic defenders in a game of soccer. However, a wary Don noted, "I'm not crazy about this because I don't do videogames. My six year old grandson can beat me on games." Don's worries bore out in the action of the match as his miniature robot spent plenty of time flailing on its back instead of kicking a goal.

Back at the flower shop, all of the inhaling began to mess with Jen's head as she complained of feeling lightheaded. She later commented, "I was looking up and seeing all these kind of flowers. I thought I was hallucinating like in a Pink Floyd music video or something." After Jen's suggestion to go upstairs where Ron & Christina continued to search, the two Teams battled for first place as Nate & Jen's noses came out on top. Opening their clue, the pair learned they had to take a taxi to the next Pit Stop at Tempozan Park, named after Mount Tempo, the lowest mountain in Japan.

With a first place finally in their sights, Nate & Jen had difficulties finding a taxi outside of the shop. This allowed Ron & Christina to sniff out a flower and find a taxi with the help of Christina's Japanese speaking skills as the race for first place heated up. When the stressed out dating couple finally found a taxi of their own, Jen accused Nate of pushing her as they got into the vehicle. Nate denied this, saying, "Stop being so negative please!"

Meanwhile, after scoring his goal when a defender fell over, Nick tried to help his technophobe grandfather maneuver his robot to kick the ball. As Don's robot inched up to the ball, Nick gave Don advice on how to move it, but instead the robot landed clear on its back once again. Eventually, the 69-year old Don, who doesn't own a computer, figured out how to use the cell phone to lead his robot down the field to score a goal. Later, he remarked, "Nick is an intelligent, headstrong young guy. I don't think I could have done this with another partner."

FIRST AGAIN
In a taxi race through the congested streets of Osaka, father and daughter Ron & Christina triumphed for their second victory of the race when they stepped onto the mat in Tempozan Park where Phil waited. For their win, the duo each received an electric vehicle that seats four, is environmentally safe and is perfect for getting around town. On their success, Christina remarked, "The fact that my dad and I got along today helped us come in first place without a doubt."

A disappointed Nate & Jen stepped onto the mat in second place knowing they missed a golden opportunity to win a leg. Jen commented, "Today we had first right in our hands, but we've been bickering at each other, so we need to learn our lesson and I think we're learning it the hard way."

DOWN, NOT OUT
After Nick & Don snagged their third place finish, dating couple TK & Rachel became very aware of their dire situation but tried to remain positive. TK said, "I definitely didn't join the race to have a miserable time at any point so I'm not going to allow myself to freak out about anything." Stepping onto the mat, the pair waited for the bad news from Phil, but it didn't come as he told them this was the second of two non-elimination legs. While the pair expressed their excitement at still being in the race, they now faced a Speed Bump in the next leg along with being three hours behind the other Teams. On this predicament, TK said, "Knowing that there are Teams out in front of us and that we really are on the chopping block now, we're definitely gonna try our damnedest to catch up to the other teams and beat them."