Remaining teams: Bella and Douglas (Chicago Cats) Fancy Feast and Chef's Blend (Friskies Spokesperson Cats) Hedley and McClurg (Skunks) Mei Xiang and Tian Tian (Panda Bears)

Fly me to the (Rising) Sun:
Strategy will be very important on this leg of the Amanxing Race. Each team knows there will be only one more non-elimination round before the final leg. Will it be this one, or the next?

Bella and Douglas, the former presidential candidates who finished first in the last leg, are the first to leave, receiving their instructions: Fly to Tokyo, Japan, and have one team member climb to the top of Tokyo Tower for the next clue.

They catch a cab to the airport, followed closely by the Friskies Gruesome Twosome, with whom they will be sharing a flight. The Black/White Alliance pairs, fighting for position, get a flight that arrives two hours later. On the first plane, Bella, Douglas, and Chef's Blend all sit together. Bella falls asleep; Douglas shares his orange juice with Chef's Blend, who doesn't like it. Fancy Feast has hissed her way into first class.

Something fishy:
The cats arrive in Tokyo at noon and head off immediately for Tokyo Tower. Bella and Chef's Blend are chosen to climb; Douglas has no front claws and Fancy Feast refuses to get her fur ruffled. Douglas pretends to throw up rather than to wait with Fancy Feast. Bella has a little trouble climbing back down (no tail for balance, you know) and Chef's Blend arrives first with their next clue: Each team will go to the Tsukiji Fish Market in the Ginza district and eat a plate of sushi at the stand with the Route Marker.

As the cats follow their noses to the fish market, the skunks and pandas arrive and go to the tower. Tian Tian immediately climbs to the top, but Hedley and McClurg argue about who is going to climb. The skunks, not being natural climbers, are both reluctant, and are still discussing it as Tian Tian climbs down and the pandas head for the market. McClurg finally agrees to the climb.

Bella and Douglas have found the Route Marker in the Fish Market and are both enjoying a plate of tuna sushi when they hear Fancy Feast hissing at the sushi chef. She wants her sushi in a round shape and served in a crystal goblet. Chef's Blend rolls his eyes. While they are waiting, Bella and Douglas finish and receive their next clue: Go to the Koishikawa Korakuen garden and look for Phil.

A ROUTE MARKER is a flag that marks the locations of further instructions.

McClurg has received his clue, but is having a little trouble climbing down. Finally, he makes it, but the skunks are now 45 minutes behind the other pairs. At the same time, Fancy Feast and Chef's Blend have finished their flying fish roe sushi, and they pass the pandas on the way in. Fortunately, the pandas are allowed to eat California Roll.

Stomping grounds:
The cats arrive at the garden, to find Phil standing next to a cameraman and four identical small-scale models of Tokyo. Each pair must walk through the model, destroying buildings, roaring, and pretending to fight, and will then receive the next clue from the cameraman. They will all get video copies of their performances. Bellzilla and Dougthra comply, with hysterical results, particularly as Douglas has no voice. The cameraman, laughing, gives them their next clue: to go to the Senso Temple which is the night's Pet Stop.

The PET STOP is the end destination for each leg of a race, at which point a Team must "clock in." The last Team to arrive at most PET STOPs is eliminated from the race. A Team will leave the PET STOP at the same time they clock in, only at the opposite time of day; for instance, a Team that clocks in at 9 am will leave at 9 pm.

McClurg and Hedley are back at the Fish Market and are eating sushi. Fancy Feast and Chef's Blend are fighting for real in the garden, and the pandas are right behind waiting for their performance, which is judged most destructive.

Oh, no:
Upon arrival at the Senso Temple, Bella and Douglas hear a high-pitched screaming and yowling sound, and immediately look worried - how did Fancy Feast get ahead of them? Not to worry, it's just their welcomer, Yoko Ono, holding a Japanese Bobtail cat. "Welcome to Japan!" she screeches. "Congratulations, you're in first, and are assured a position in the Final Three." Fancy Feast and Chef's Blend are second, and Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are third.

Skunk stars are born:
Finally, the skunks arrive. "Hedley, McClurg, you're in fourth place. I'm sorry to say, you are the last team to be eliminated from the Amanxing Race." But all is not lost for our skunk heroes. A Japanese film producer, Mr. Gojira, noticed them running through the streets and has signed them up to star in their own animated series, Skunkemon, coming to a TV network near you!

Written by Becky Banfield

Next time, on THE AMANXING RACE: The Final Three pairs meet an old friend in an unlikely place. Will they now call it "No-Tails of the City?", and - "China Cat Sunflower" is an appropriate song for this leg of the long strange trip.

On to episode 12 ->

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