Boat racing (or Kyotei) is one of 4 sports that Japanese are legally allowed to gamble on. There are 24 boat racing courses around Japan and 4 in the greater Tokyo area. One cold March afternoon I headed outto the boat race course at Edogawa to see what it’s all about. Boat racing stadiums consist of the 600 metre course with stadium style seating on one half of the course allowing punters to watch the entire race.
Youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJXzTa_XcLI&list=UUqWAFQwtHhG8n8wvFprYTPw&index=1&feature=plcp
The first thing you notice on the way into the boat racing stadium if the imposing statute overlooking the entrance (entrance price 100 yen into automatic gates) and the crowd. The crowd is dominated by oldermen, there’s not much in the way of a festive race meeting vibe and very few kids.
Races have 6 control boats and require the boats to go around the 600 metre course 3 times. Races are generally over in less than two minutes. Races start with a “flying start” where the boats run flat out at the start line with the aim of crossing the line within one second of the start time. Boats crossing the line either one second before, or one second after, the start time are scratched and bets on those boats are refunded.
Youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJXzTa_XcLI&list=UUqWAFQwtHhG8n8wvFprYTPw&index=1&feature=plcp
The first thing you notice on the way into the boat racing stadium if the imposing statute overlooking the entrance (entrance price 100 yen into automatic gates) and the crowd. The crowd is dominated by oldermen, there’s not much in the way of a festive race meeting vibe and very few kids.
Races have 6 control boats and require the boats to go around the 600 metre course 3 times. Races are generally over in less than two minutes. Races start with a “flying start” where the boats run flat out at the start line with the aim of crossing the line within one second of the start time. Boats crossing the line either one second before, or one second after, the start time are scratched and bets on those boats are refunded.
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