Sports Japan’s toughest new sport: street racing in office chairs

[thomas]

CNN on Japanese street-racing office chair races.

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This is an office chair race – a growing sport in Japan where teams of three compete to finish as many laps around a circuit as possible in two hours, covering upwards of 20 kilometers as they go. Tsuyoshi Tahara founded the inaugural race in 2010 in Kyotanabe city, Kyoto prefecture – inspired by a childhood teacher who once scolded him for playing with an office chair. Since then, the sport has gone nationwide. Every year, the competition takes place in 10 cities, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Shizuoka – with even major corporations like Toyota sending teams to participate. "The biggest appeal is that anyone can participate. There are people working hard in offices all over the world, and we want them to step out of the office," Tahara said.

The coveted prize? 90 kilograms of rice, which Tahara selected for its ubiquity across Japan and ease of sharing. But there are some regional variations; first prize in Tokyo, for example, is 5 kilograms of tuna.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/27/asia/japan-office-chair-racing-intl-hnk

How office chair racing in Japan is attracting thrill-seekers

No souped-up chairs are allowed in this competition.

www.bbc.com