Japanese office workers are street-racing office chairs, a growing sport in Japan where teams of three compete to complete as many laps around a circuit as possible in two hours, covering upwards of 20 kilometers. The sport was founded by Suyoshi Tahara in 2010 and has since become a national sport. The first race took place in 2010 in Kyotanabe city, Kyoto prefecture, inspired by Tahara's childhood teacher who scolded him for playing with an office chair. Since then, the sport has spread to 10 cities, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Shizuoka, with major corporations like Toyota sending teams to participate. The prize is 90 kilograms (almost 200 pounds) of rice, which Tahara selected for its ubiquity and ease of sharing. Competitors must wear a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, and use non-customized, commercially available chairs. Each team covers about 8 kilometers (about five miles) in the race, which requires both technique and physical strength, and athletes train together to overcome each other. The unusual event allows competitors to briefly relive their childhoods and allows them to enjoy activities they wouldn't normally be allowed to do.