Well, well, well... a perfect conclusion to a fantastic season of The Amazing Race. Of course, that's in my own humble opinion. Yes, the lackluster, boring, tedious, and family-safe family version faux pas of last autumn is but a distant memory. This season was one heck of a whirlwind ride with excellent casting (overall), excitement, and lots of close finishes. Ah, but close doesn't win the million, does it? On with the show:

The three remaining teams (BJ/Tyler, Eric/Jeremy and Ray/Yolanda) left their last Pit Stop at the Marble Temple in Thailand taking a taxi 75 miles to the Royal Kraal Pavilion - an historical place where wild elephants used to be taken in round-ups. Today, it seems like a trained elephant hangout. Now, what would the show be without a product placement?

The clue there, passed by elephants to the team (via trunk mail) was a T-Mobile cell phone with a message. Although the teams left the Marble Temple in their arrival order with a few hours between first and last, this was another bunching point as they waited for the Pavilion to open. Rats, there went BJ and Tyler's lead! One thing I noticed — Ray and Yolanda had a bright pink taxi. I thought some of the taxis in New Jersey had odd colors!

Teams took off to the airport to fly to Tokyo, Japan. BJ and Tyler were ecstatic as Tyler speaks fluent Japanese, has a Japanese girlfriend and hiked the length of the country. Of course, it would have behooved them to get the first flight to Tokyo. Nope. Eric/Jeremy and Ray/Yolanda filled that one. My heart sank. Instead of the two-hour lead they had, all of a sudden they were running two hours behind the other teams! Ack!

Once in Tokyo, teams had to drive to Shibuya which is so much like Times Square in Manhattan that I had to do a double-take. They had to search the huge video ads on the buildings for a clue which turned out to be "Find Hachiko." What's a Hachiko, you ask?

It's a statue of a beloved dog, an Akita named Hachiko. Ray and Yolanda fell behind in Tokyo and set the pattern for the rest of the leg. Their obstacles were the language barrier compounded by a big traffic jam. The fun note on this leg was when Ray told Yolanda he was "driving Miss Crazy."

The clue at Hachiko was a Detour, a choice between two tasks usually having something to do with the locality. The choices were Maiden (carrying a maiden to a tea house) or Delivery (delivering two packages to separate businesses on folding bikes). Eric and Jeremy chose Maiden, probably because there was a woman involved, those HornDogz! BJ and Tyler thought they could make up time with delivery as Tyler could easily ask for and understand directions in Japanese. Ray and Yolanda? Still roaming in the search for Hachiko! Once they got there, they took the Maiden Detour and whined less than Jeremy and Eric about it.