Originally aired on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 Written By BuddyTV Staff Columnist Episode Rating: *** ( 3 stars out of 5) Episode Overview: Three teams are in the final stretch to the finish line of The Amazing Race. The Frats maintain their strong position, but transportation challenges frequently level the playing field, leading to a near-photo finish.
Episode Highlights:

• The teams leave Thailand for Japan; the Hippies are thrilled, as Tyler knows the language and has traveled extensively in the country.
• Ray and Yolanda struggle to maintain harmony as they encounter navigation difficulties in Japan and even back in the States.
• The teams come full circle, ending the race at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, where it all began!

Recap: Entering the final legs of The Amazing Race, the Hippies, B.J. Averall and Tyler MacNiven, have zipped into first place on the strength of last episode's Fast Forward. They have the opportunity to leave for the next stop - a Thai elephant park - nearly two hours ahead of the other teams. In keeping with how this season's Race has been organized, the Hippies' lead evaporates at the destination, as the elephant park won't open until four in the morning. They settle in for the inevitable arrival of the other teams, the Frat Boys (Eric Sanchez and Jeremy Ryan), and the third team, Ray Whitty and Yolanda Brown-Moore. Once the park opens, they receive their clues via Sidekicks delivered by the elephants' trunks. The clues direct them to fly to Tokyo, Japan. The Hippies are ecstatic: Tyler has a Japanese girlfriend and has walked the width of the island. They are sure his language skills will give them an edge. They'll need something, as once again, they have some spotty luck at the airport. The Frats and Ray/Yolanda both get on the same flight, but the Hippies can only get seats on one arriving two hours later. Upon arrival in Japan, the teams must drive to Shibuya Square, which is the busiest intersection in Tokyo, and the Japanese hyper-watt answer to Time Square. Once there, they must scan the many lighted billboards for their next clue. The Frats manage to navigate the busy streets well, find the billboard clue, which leads them to a famous statue of a dog named Hachiko. Upon finding the status, a local gives them their next clue. It's a Detour task, a choice between Maiden (carrying a woman in small structure on a pole) or Messenger (assembling a bike and delivering two packages to destinations in the busy area). The Frats, of course, choose Maiden. Was there ever any doubt? Meanwhile, Ray/Yolanda are having nothing but trouble trying to navigate the Japanese highway system. This gives the Hippies the chance to close the gap. They get to the square, find the clue, and head off to the Messenger task. The Maiden task is a bit more arduous than the Frats anticipated, but they complete it, and get their next clue, which sends them to the Capsule Land Hotel. At the hotel, they receive a departure time of 9:00 AM for the next day, and settle into their "capsule�? hotel room (read: coffin-sized tube). The Hippies complete the Messenger task easily and arrive next at the hotel to receive a departure time of 9:15 AM. Ray/Yolanda, having finally managed to get through Tokyo traffic to complete the Maiden task, arrive last, and get a departure time of 9:30 AM. The next day, the teams must drive themselves to a local amusement park. The Hippies are able to make up their fifteen-minute lag to arrive at the park at the same time as the Frats, to Tyler's delight. (By this point, despite my editorial bias towards the Hippies in The Amazing Race, even I was getting annoyed at the constant crowing about their advantage in Japan. OK, we get it, Tyler!) No such luck for Ray/Yolanda. They get slowed down nearly every step of the way, having difficulty reading the map and losing their toll ticket. At the park, they have a Roadblock task - a task only one can complete. One player from the team will have to ride three intense park rides, including two roller coasters, and spot a clue on the ground from one of the rides. Jeremy and Tyler complete the task for their teams. Tyler tries a brief fake-out, telling Jeremy he saw the clue on the second ride, but its appearance on the third ride is obvious. For spotting the clue, they each get the next; it's directions to the next Pit Stop in The Amazing Race, a large swan-shaped pleasure boat in a local lake. Each team will have to paddle out to it in a small, duck-shaped paddle boat. The two teams get to the paddle boats at nearly the same time, and the Frats think they have the Hippies beat with this one. But the Hippies hold their own in the physical challenge, and arrive to the mat first. The Frats are next, and Ray/Yolanda, who did eventually make it to the amusement park, and complete the Roadblock, finally arrive last. They're not out, though! This was a non-elimination leg, so they are still in the running for the million! They will have to give up everything they own, though. The Hippies, leaving first the next day, repay Ray/Yolanda's previous good deeds by giving them some cash. Despite the staggered departure times, some sneaky behavior on the part of the Hippies, and Ray/Yolanda being slowed down by the need to beg for more cash, once again, the teams are all equalized at the airport, with all teams eventually ending up on the same flight to their next destination: Alaska. In Alaska, the Frats and the Hippies again pull ahead of Ray/Yolanda who are having some navigation problems even back in the States. The two teams arrive at the next Detour task, although because of bad weather, both teams are forced to choose the same task: drilling holes in the ice and constructing a small ice fishing structure. The Frats' physical fitness helps them in this challenge, and they finish ahead of the Hippies. The Hippies, however, still manage to finish before Ray/Yolanda even arrive at the Detour. There's one more small challenge - a snowshoe trek - and then the teams are back to the airport to fly back to where it all began: Denver, CO. And once again, everyone is back on equal footing as they all get on the same flight out of Alaska! The Frats, who, to be fair, have been consistent front-runners, are clearly frustrated by the constant equalizing of the teams. The teams land, and cab it out to a history park to find a hidden clue sending them back to the Red Rocks Amphitheater, where all the teams met to begin the race. The Frats are in first, again, followed closely by the Hippies. Ray/Yolanda again drift into a relatively distant third. At Red Rocks, there is one final Roadblock to be completed to determine the winner of The Amazing Race. One player will have to find, in a field of 285 flags, the correct flag for each country visited. The player will then have to line them up in order of the Race. The other player can provide verbal, but not physical assistance. The Frats take an early lead, but the Hippies play a quick game of catch-up. Both teams have one flag (Russia) incorrect, but while the Hippies are able to identify and fix their error, the Frats struggle, making wrong choice after wrong choice. The Hippies are given the green light that their flags and sequence are correct and race first to the Mat. They are the million-dollar winners of this season of The Amazing Race! The Frats are second to the mat, and visibly pissed. Ray and Yolanda eventually make their appearance, seeming to take their loss in stride. Well, whether the Hippies always acted on the positive principles they claimed to have might be debatable, but one thing is clear: BJ and Tyler were an entertaining duo to watch on The Amazing Race. TTOW, indeed! Thank you for reading this season's recaps!