Speed and snacking go hand in hand in this deliciously competitive sport.

Do you like bread? How about sports? If you’ve answered yes to both, there’s an event coming up that’s perfect for you: the second annual Bread Eating Race, held on April 6 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.

The Bread Eating Race Association, formed by the collaboration of Kimuraya Sohonten (a centuries-old bakery business famous for “anpan”, buns filled with sweet red bean paste) and Deportare Partners (a company founded by former track and field athlete Tamesue Dai), is back at it again with a bread-sports mashup for the second year in a row.

However, not content with just a simple bread race, they’ve decided to expand with a new, world-first variation. Where the usual bread race involves participants racing to grab a dangling bag of bread with nothing but their mouths before crossing the finish line, the newly introduced relay race will see teams of three people cooperate in three 30-meter (98.4-foot) races to clinch victory.

The races will take place at the Roofed Outdoor Plaza at Coredo Muromachi Terrace as part of the Sakura Fes Nihonbashi event. Held on April 6, 2025, the event will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the caveat that it will be canceled in case of extreme weather.

There are only a few rules to bear in mind:

  1. Each team must consist of three members
  2. There’s no age limit within the team — both adults and children can participate, as long as they can run independently
  3. There’s no height restriction — the height of the bread can be adjusted freely to suit the participants
  4. Crossing the finish line without the bag of bread in your mouth results in disqualification
  5. Touching the bread with hands during the race leads to immediate disqualification
  6. All bread obtained during the race must be fully eaten afterward or you and your team will be disqualified

By now your feet are sure to be itching and your stomach grumbling, so how do you get to participate? Follow the link below to the official page for the event you are interested in and sign up. The standard Bread Eating Race has a participation fee of 500 yen (US$3.33) per person, whereas the Bread Eating Relay is 1,500 yen for each team of three people. Slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and finish on March 30, so be sure to register fast if you want a chance of taking part.

If competitive spirit and delicious bread aren’t enough, for every person who takes part, the Bread Eating Race Association will donate an equal number of anpan to a children’s cafeteria in Chuo Ward. There you have it, folks: jumping to catch bread with your mouth will feed a child.

While no indication is given of there being a Bread Eating Olympics in the future, we at SoraNews24 are ready to start training for our possible future participation. I hope to participate in the baguette javelin, where contestants will be required to catch a thrown baguette with their mouth or face disqualification, or perhaps even the bread diving, where you have to try and snag a bun between your teeth as you plunge into a pool of water. Until someone deems the world ready for such an intense sporting event, aspiring athletes will have to look forward to the upcoming Bread Eating Relay.

Event Location
Nihonbashi Muromachi Mitsui Tower COREDO Muromachi Terrace / 日本橋室町三井タワー COREDO室町テラス
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi, Muromachi 3-2-1
東京都中央区日本橋室町3-2-1
Website

Related: PR Times, Individual Bread Eating Race Sign Up, Bread Eating Relay Race Sign Up
Source, images: PR Times

● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]