Only in Japan will you find a group of inflatable T-Rex dinosaurs racing across a field. This peculiar event was the inaugural Tyrannosaurus Race Oyama in Daisen, Tottori prefecture, where roughly 100 people dressed up as inflatable dinosaurs for a competitive race on Saturday April 16.
夫が恐竜レースに出るって言うから応援に行ったらシュールすぎた… pic.twitter.com/4Kw3nN5GeE
— 岡部楓子(TSKアナウンサー) (@fuk8kabe) April 16, 2022
The entertaining event went viral online with videos of the hilarious 70m-long race racking up millions of views.
恐竜たちが全力疾走!?
— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) April 16, 2022
恐竜の着ぐるみを着た人たちが坂を駆け上って順位を競うユニークなレースが鳥取県大山町で行われました。https://t.co/Tnfs4NUfcX#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/51K4KPpXAi
It even made headlines in national news programmes including NHK and Nittele News.
酒飲みながら見たらヤバイね🤣🤣🤣#恐竜レース pic.twitter.com/92zNKANFJw
— キイロイトリ (@51427435) April 18, 2022
There’s more to the race than just running. The event was preceded by a radio taiso warmup, a common morning exercise routine in Japan. Seeing the participants attempting the exercises with those short T-rex arms really had us cracking up.
今日は恐竜レースを観に来ました pic.twitter.com/RvQ0BSESDj
— ハロートマト ‘//, (@HelloTomato23) April 16, 2022
The race consisted of a few rounds, with the adults going first followed by a group of children. The participants even embellished their inflatable T-Rex costumes with flags, balloons and other fun accessories.
Fully invested in the race? You can rewatch the dino race via YouTube (shown above).
We hope to see this turn into an annual event in Tottori. For more information, follow the Tyrannosaurus Race Oyama on Twitter.
More from Time Out Tokyo
Survey: tell us what living in Tokyo is really like for you
The first Time Out Market in Asia is opening in Osaka ahead of World Expo 2025
New Trunk Hotel in Shibuya will have an infinity pool over Yoyogi Park
A gigantic Ultraman has appeared in Asakusa
‘Gensan Punch’ is a biopic about a barrier-breaking disabled Japanese boxer
Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.