They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street

They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street
Episode Information
Version:	United States
Season:	The Amazing Race 15
Episode Number:	1/11 (169)
First Broadcast:	September 27, 2009
Viewership (in millions):	10.40
Ratings/Share (18-49):	3.4/8
Episode Chronology
Previous:	"This Is How You Lose a Million Dollars" (previous season)
Next:	"It's Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars"
Subpages

They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street is the season premiere of The Amazing Race 15.

Route Markers

Leg 1

• Starting Line
• Route Info 1
• Roadblock
• Route Info 2 and Pit Stop

The race begins at the Sixth Street Viaduct in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Teams must complete a starting line task. They must search through over 1,000 license plates to find one of eleven Japanese license plates from Shinagawa. The kanji for Shinagawa (品川) was printed at the top of the clue, but was not identified as such. Once teams present a correct license plate to host Phil Keoghan, they would receive a set of tickets on one of two flights, the first six teams being on an American Airlines leaving at 12:45 pm, and the last five being on a United Airlines flight departing at 1:15 pm, to their first destination, Tokyo, Japan. The team who fails to find a plate will be eliminated at the Starting Line. Once they have found a correct license plate, teams can drive themselves to Los Angeles International Airport. Upon arrival in Tokyo, teams must take a taxi to Tokyo Tower Studios, where they would find their next clue.

The order when teams found their license plate was a follows:

1. Maria & Tiffany
2. Marcy & Ron
3. Meghan & Cheyne
4. Flight Time & Big Easy
5. Gary & Matt
6. Zev & Justin
7. Sam & Dan
8. Mika & Canaan
9. Garrett & Jessica
10. Brian & Ericka
11. Lance & Keri

For not finding a license plate, Eric & Lisa were eliminated from the Race.

The team member assigned to perform this Roadblock must participate in a Japanese-style game show called Sushi Roulette. Once all the teams have arrived at Tokyo Tower Studios, the host would spin a wheel with 11 plates of sushi, two of which were "wasabi bombs", temaki-style sushi filled with hot wasabi. Racers who received plain sushi had to eat the sushi and play until they received a wasabi bomb. If the racer receives a wasabi bomb, he or she would have 2 minutes to eat it in order to receive their next clue. If they failed to finish it within the time allotted, they would have to play again until they receive a new wasabi bomb and could complete the task.

The Roadblock performers per team are underlined:

• Brian & Ericka
• Flight Time & Big Easy
• Garrett & Jessica
• Gary & Matt
• Lance & Keri
• Marcy & Ron
• Maria & Tiffany
• Meghan & Cheyne
• Mika & Canaan
• Sam & Dan
• Zev & Justin

Teams must guide a group of 20 Japanese tourists whose visors match the colored flag they received at the end of the Roadblock through the Shibuya Crossing to Konnō Hachimangū Shrine to check in. If even one of their tourists gets lost while traveling to the Pit Stop, teams must backtrack and find them before they are allowed to check in.

For coming in first place, Meghan & Cheyne won a trip for two to Aspen and Vail, Colorado provided by Travelocity.

For coming in last place, Maria & Tiffany will have to perform a Speed Bump at some point during the next leg of the race.

Leg 2

• Pit Start
• Route Info 1
• Speed Bump
• Route Info 2
• Route Info 3
• Roadblock
• Route Info 4 and Pit Stop

The order of departure from Konnō Hachimangū Shrine are as follows:

1. Meghan & Cheyne (12:19 am)
2. Zev & Justin (12:36 am)
3. Lance & Keri (12:40 am)
4. Marcy & Ron (12:41 am)
5. Flight Time & Big Easy (12:42 am)
6. Brian & Ericka (12:44 am)
7. Gary & Matt (12:45 am)
8. Garrett & Jessica (12:51 am)
9. Sam & Dan (12:54 am)
10. Mika & Canaan (1:03 am)
11. Maria & Tiffany (3:22 am)

Teams must fly to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Upon arrival, teams must take a bus from Bến Xe Miền Tây to the village of Cái Bè. Once there, teams must make their way on foot to Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock, where they would find their next clue.

At Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock, Maria & Tiffany would receive their clue for their Speed Bump. Maria & Tiffany must collect the ingredients for the Vietnamese soup pho from a nearby soup stand. Once collected, they must prepare a serving of the soup and give it to the dockmaster at Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock before they are allowed to continue.

Teams must pick a sampan and travel on the Mekong Delta to a fruit farm mud pit on Tân Phong Island. There, teams must collect nutrient-rich mud in buckets and pile it at the base of a fruit tree to a designated line to receive their next clue.

Teams must ride their sampan back to Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock, then make their way on foot to Sân Vận động Thị Trấn Cái Bè, where they would find their next clue.

"Who's feeling just ducky?"

The team member assigned to perform this Roadblock must herd 150 ducks out of their pen, lead them across a bridge and back, and then return them back into their pen in 10 minutes using two flags as a means to guide the ducks. Once the every duck is back inside their pen, they would receive their next clue. With only six available fields, if the team member fails to complete it within 10 minutes, they would have to relinquish their spot and wait for another turn.

The Roadblock performers per team are underlined:

• Brian & Ericka
• Flight Time & Big Easy
• Garrett & Jessica
• Gary & Matt
• Lance & Keri
• Marcy & Ron
• Maria & Tiffany
• Meghan & Cheyne
• Mika & Canaan
• Sam & Dan
• Zev & Justin

Teams must make their way on foot to Cai Be Market and search for the Bassac III riverboat to check in.
For coming in first place, Gary & Matt each won a kayak.

Leaderboard

Legend:
     First Place •      Eliminated •      Last placer on a Non-Elimination Leg or continue racing on a No-Rest Leg •      Season winner •      Season 2nd place •      Season 3rd place • ► Used the Fast Forward• ⊂ Used the U-Turn • ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn

Leg 1

Meghan & Cheyne  1st place  Meghan & Cheyne Dating	Zev & Justin  2nd place  Zev & Justin Friends	Lance & Keri  3rd place  Lance & Keri Engaged	Marcy & Ron  4th place  Marcy & Ron Dating	Flight Time & Big Easy  5th place  Flight Time & Big Easy Harlem Globetrotters
Brian & Ericka  6th place  Brian & Ericka Married	Gary & Matt  7th place  Gary & Matt Father/Son	Garrett & Jessica  8th place  Garrett & Jessica Dating On and Off	Sam & Dan  9th place  Sam & Dan Brothers	Mika & Canaan  10th place  Mika & Canaan Newly Dating
Maria & Tiffany  11th place  Maria & Tiffany Professional Poker Players	Eric & Lisa  12th place  Eric & Lisa Married Yoga Teachers

Leg 2

Gary & Matt  1st place  Gary & Matt Father/Son	Sam & Dan  2nd place  Sam & Dan Brothers	Flight Time & Big Easy  3rd place  Flight Time & Big Easy Harlem Globetrotters	Lance & Keri  4th place  Lance & Keri Engaged	Zev & Justin  5th place  Zev & Justin Friends
Meghan & Cheyne  6th place  Meghan & Cheyne Dating	Maria & Tiffany  7th place  Maria & Tiffany Professional Poker Players	Mika & Canaan  8th place  Mika & Canaan Newly Dating	Marcy & Ron  9th place  Marcy & Ron Dating	Brian & Ericka  10th place  Brian & Ericka Married
Garrett & Jessica  11th place  Garrett & Jessica Dating On and Off

Trivia

• This episode marks the first time that a team is eliminated at the Starting Line.
• This was the first 2-hour season premiere episode of The Amazing Race since "Here We Go, Baby, Off to Win a Million Bucks!" in The Amazing Race 9. Unlike previous 2-hour season premieres, it was split into two legs.
• Leg 1 ties with the first legs of The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, The Amazing Race 19, and The Amazing Race 28 for the earliest Non-Elimination Leg in the US version.
• The episode title is said by Flight Time Lang.