Season 26 of The Amazing Race has officially kicked off. This year, six existing couples will race against five newly formed couples for an ultimate blind date experience.

Before the race, Five singles are introduced to their new partners; Tyler and Laura, Blair and Hayley, Bergen and Kurt, Jelani and Jenny and Jeff and Jackie. They are racing against six well established couples; Aly and Steve (dating 7 months), Libby and CJ (dating 10 years), Mike and Rochelle (dating 8 months), Harley and Jonathan (dating 7 years), Matt and Ashley (dating 3 years) and Jeff and Lyda (dating 4 years).

The first task, run through a wet and muddy obstacle course to get to the plane tickets at the end. There are two flights, both heading to Tokyo, Japan. The winner of the first leg will be awarded the Express Pass, giving them the chance to skip a tasks on a leg of their choosing.

Matt and Ashley are the first to reach the end of the obstacle course, with Lebya and CJ finishing last.

The teams head to Tokyo where they are warned of a blind U-Turn ahead, giving one team the chance to have another team complete the second option of the detour that they didn't complete.

As teams drive themselves to the airport, the existing couples talk about their advantages over the newly formed couples, while Hayley just talks and talks.

The first flight will arrive 45 minutes before the second flight which holds Blair and Hayley, Mike and Rochelle and Lebya and CJ.

Once teams arrive in Japan, they receive a clue telling them to find the Kanda Myojin, a special shrine. Some choose to take taxis while others take a train. Hayley and Blair miss their train, but luckily another one arrives quickly.

Jelani and Jenny reach the shrine first and their clue is a detour. Teams must choose between two tasks; Syncing Steps or Samurai Sake. In Syncing Steps, teams must learn a robotic dance routine and perform it perfectly in sync with the members of a popular band. If they do the whole routine without any mistakes, they then receive their next clue. In Samurai Sake, teams must memorize 10 different types of sake and then complete a tables order, giving them the correct bottle. If they are correct, they take a drink of sake with their table and receive their next clue.

Jeff and Jackie and Harley and John are the only two teams to choose the sake detour and are the first two to complete their tasks. The other teams decided to complete the Syncing Steps detour, which proved to be harder and more tedious than the sake task. Laura and Tyler finish first, followed by Jelani and Jenny, Aly and Steve, Bergen and Kurt, Hayley and Blair, Matt and Ashley, Lebya and CJ, Mike and Rochelle, with Jeff and Lyda finishing last.

Teams then head to the Wakaba Higashi Park where they reach the Blind U-Turn. The early teams all choose not to U-Turn anyone. They then head to the pit stop, which is a parking space outside of a parking garage, confusing a few teams who search within the garage to find the spot.

Mike and Rochelle, fearing they could come in last, U-Turn Jeff and Lyda, making them go back and complete the sake task.

The order reaching the pit stop are as follows:

1. Jelani and Jenny (winning the Express Pass)
2. Jeff and Jackie (close second, realized the spot was outside a little too late)
3. Tyler and Laura
4. Aly and Steve
5. Harley and Jonathan (got lost)
6. Bergen and Kurt
7. Mike and Rochelle
8. Hayley and Blair
9. Matt and Ashley
10. Lebya and CJ (after getting very lost)
Eliminated: Jeff and Lyda

Friday, the race continues on it's normal night, with the newly established couple showing their strengths (especially since the new couples came in 1st, 2nd and 3rd).

photo courtesy of INFphoto.com