"The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business" heads to Japan

(CBS) - There were a slew of travel disasters and muddy moments during Sunday night's episode of "Amazing Race: Unfinished Business."

As the teams made their way to Japan, they had to choose between a non-stop direct flight and a flight that had one layover but arrived 15 minutes earlier. (SPOILER ALERT)

Pictures: "Amazing Race: Unfinished Business"

Five of the nine teams left opted for the latter, but it didn't help much because their flight was forced to ground in Hong Kong for engine trouble. This gave brothers Zev and Justin, father-and-son duo Mike and Mel, "Goths" Kent and Vyxsin, cheerleaders Cara and Jamie and mother and son Margie and Luke a considerable lead.

While in Tokyo, the teams had to maneuver through the city and make their way to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine for the Roadblock. Cowboys Jet and Cord showed difficulty in the challenge which involved horses, shooting a bow and arrow and dressing up as a samurai. They later made up time by speeding through their Detour and finished this week in sixth place.

This week's Detour had the teams choose between taking part in a Shinto religious ritual ("Prayer of Purity") and waddling through a giant pit of mud to find a frog ("Frog of Luck"). Globetrotters Herb and Nate and father-and-daughter duo Ron & Christina picked the Purity challenge, while the rest tested their luck in the mud.

Despite pushing himself to exhaustion, 70-year-old Mel eventually quit after his son Mike, worried for his health, made him stop. "He cared more about me than he cared about the race," Mel said. The two were eliminated at the finish line. This put Cara and Jamie, who were way behind due to a traffic accident earlier, safe from elimination.

For the second week in a row, brothers Zev and Justin come up top. They won a trip to Costa Rica. Next across the finish line in this order were: Gary and Mallory, Herb and Nate, Ron and Christina, Kish and Jen, Cord and Jet ,Kent and Vyxsin, and Margie and Luke.