JAPAN: Japanese contestants brave pouring rain to put their custom box carts to the test as they compete for million yen prize

Record ID: 310545

  • Title: JAPAN: Japanese contestants brave pouring rain to put their custom box carts to the test as they compete for million yen prize
  • Date: 18th March 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 25-YEAR-OLD HIDENORI KOIZUMI DRESSED AS BATMAN SAYING: "There were a lot of things that didn't quite go as planned, but now that it's over it's definitely something I can look back on and say I'm glad I did."
  • Embargoed: 2nd April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAAVQRFCWB13TRCN4U6HEYLH7CI
  • Story Text: Braving pouring rain, hundreds of contestants turned out on Saturday(March 17) to put their custom made box carts to the test as they looked to compete for the top prize of 1 million yen ($11,988 USD).
    With over 50 teams competing in the second Japan Red Bull box cart race, the contest saw carts ranging from traditional Japanese designs to the batmobile.
    While umbrellas were more than in abundance, those visitors who did show up found the event a nice chance to relax even with the unfavourable weather.
    "There aren't many events like this so it's fun. My son likes vehicles so it's quite nice as well," explained 27-year-old Yusuke Hoshi, who brought his 3-year-old son Hayato.
    Others, after seeing the event, hoped that more like it would spring up across the country.
    "There's not really many chances to see things like this. It's a really fun event so I hope that they do more of them in different places as well," said 23-year-old Emi Kitagawa.
    For the contestants themselves, the race consisted this year of 250 metre long course interspersed with obstacles and jumps that they had to navigate within 3 minutes.
    While most managed to make it across the finish, some such as batmobile driver Hidenori Koizumi said there was still room for improvement.
    "There were a lot of things that didn't quite go as planned, but now that it's over it's definitely something I can look back on and say I'm glad I did," Koizumi said.
    Participants were then judged on three categories of originality and work put into the cart, the performances of the teams, and the actual race time.
    The eventual winners were the "Fastest Ninja Cows" team, with their carbon-fiber based box cart they managed to take first and win the million yen prize or F1 Grand Prix tour.
    "We're just so satisfied, and have such a sense of accomplishment. As for the prize money, we first plan to pay back all the costs for making the cart and then split it between everyone who's helped get us here," explained team member Hidekazu Kusanagi said.
    The two runners up were not left out, with second place also getting a 500,000 yen($5,950 USD) prize and third walking away with 300,000 yen($3,571 USD) to put in the bank.
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