The race was held at Oyahama Beach, which is a good, safe swimming beach. Strangely enough the registration process was super easy.
Even more strangely for a race in Japan, the race briefings were not mandatory. It seemed to be a case of “work it out for yourself”. About time!
This is not a official JTU ranking series race, so it was very relaxed. Maybe this is why this is the number 4 triathlon in Japan?
The course is very straightforward so there wasn’t much for them to talk about with the exception of their fixation on offering a “swim skip” and the requirement (by threat of DQ) to carry at least one bottle on the bike.
The race started late at 09:30 with 3 minutes between the 3 waves. This meant for a bit of a sleep in and a relaxing, late breakfast. I had chosen B&B Forest Shima about 15 mins by car away from the start which turned out to be a very good pick.
Run by a super friendly young couple, it was newly renovated and had just reopened a few days before. The rooms were huge (62sqm with 4 beds) and only cost ¥10,000 per night for two.