(note: it might be fun to follow this post on Google Maps)
The race started in Tsuruga, the Northernmost city in the Reinan south prefecture area, and a beautiful seaside place. At exactly 9:00am, we descended upon the city, in all manner of dress. Being a foreigner around here will get you enough stares anyways, but foreigners dressed up as pirates, Fred Flintstone, giant Pac-men, ravers, and a dance battle crew (among others) will downright terrify some rural Japanese townsfolk. We ran around the city's main shopping promenade and tried to solve riddles as quickly as possible. At the end of part 1, we decided to complete our first photo challenge, "Switch costumes with another team":
Once our in-town objectives in Tsuruga were over, we hopped back in our cars and zipped around a big mountain overlooking the sea. We drove past nuclear reactors and had to hike up to an abandoned lighthouse to answer the next questions. Along the way, we stopped to complete a photo challenge. We had to approach a Japanese fisherman at a seaside village and take a picture including both him and his prized catch.
After the gorgeous drive around the mountains west of Tsuruga, we ended up in Mihama at the best beach I've seen in Fukui. I was pretty proud of myself and my team for completing the next challenge on the first try. We had to juggle a soccer ball ten times, while saying the name of a world cup team with ever kick, and everyone on our team had to touch the ball at least once. After that, we figured the great beach and hot weather called for us to complete another challenge. This one had us submerged in the water, getting more points the farther in we went. You'll notice that I'm holding a stuffed animal; this was our mascot, and all photo challenges required that Hello Kitty be included in the photographs.
We'd been doing pretty well so far, but in stage 3 our march toward victory took a few diversions. We were supposed to be headed from Mihama to Wakasa Town, driving around the beautiful 5 lakes that dot the area. Unfortunately, a a combination of fatigue and somewhat vague directions led us astray. We spent the next hour driving around in circles looking for the 4th checkpoint. Sadly, we ended up using the GPS on Justin's iPhone to find it in the end.
Anyways, once we got back on track we headed further south than I'd ever been in Fukui, to Obama City. I must say it's a pleasant place, and I wish I'd been there sooner. Our first task in Obama had our team ascending a big mountain which overlooked the city. We heard, but didn't manage to see any of the elusive monkeys that live there. However, the view from the top was simply breathtaking. After we drove back to the base of the mountain, we made our way into the actual city. There we were greeted by yet another challenge, involving our lovely Irish Jet Grainne (Grah-Ni-Uh). This one involved the Irish sport of hurling. I tried to transfer my mediocre baseball skills in order to complete the game, but I was unsuccessful.
About this time it started getting dark, and we were called in by HQ. All the teams met up at a cabin deep in the woods near Ooi town. The points were tallied up and awards were given. Our team got second-to-last place! Whoops... but we ate up, partied down, and got comfy cabins to sleep in. Woke up at around 9am for the 2 hour drive back to Sabae, and made it to the Orphanage in Fukui for a swim day as a volunteer. I didn't realize how tired I was until I got home at 6pm, put the NBA Finals on my computer, and promptly passed out for 12 (!) hours. All things considered, I think the Car Rally was easily one of the best events put on by our organization, and a big Thank You to everyone who spent so much time putting it together. Till next time!
P.S. My camera memory card was used for our official challenge pictures, and we weren't allowed to take any scenery pics. Hopefully once Justin puts up his pictures I can steal a few and put them up here.
P.P.S. Only 52 days till I'm back in California to see my family and friends! I hope to do a lot before I leave, so stay tuned for some fast and furious updates!
