We may have found a race even better than the famous “Space-Out Competition” held in Shibuya — a national “Capybara Long Bath Showdown.” It’s exactly what it sounds like: Five zoos across Japan face off to see which of their capybara champions takes the longest soak in an outdoor bath. This year’s winner stayed submerged for a staggering 1 hour, 45 minutes and 18 seconds, living up to her fitting and iconic name, Prune.
Here’s how the competition went down.
Prune, courtesy of @capybarabath on X
Prune Beats a Legendary Competitor
Prune, representing Nagasaki Bio Park, officially claimed the title of Japan’s most relaxed capybara. However, much of the pre-game hype surrounded her rival, Hechima, from the Saitama Children’s Zoo Park.
Hechima is already a household name in the world of niche competitions, known as the “Watermelon Queen” for her four consecutive wins in the summer speed-eating contest. This was her second attempt at the winter bathing title.
The competition was fiercely chill, with the final leaderboard showing a tight race for the top three spots. Koharu from Nasu Animal Kingdom closely followed Prune’s time at 1 hour, 32 minutes and 17 seconds, while Truffle from Izu Shaboten Zoo dipped out after 1 hour, 26 minutes and 57 seconds.
Poor Sheeta from Ishikawa Zoo seemed to have other plans, exiting the water after a mere 17 seconds. Hechima, despite her fans’ expectations, finished in a respectable but disappointing fourth place.
hechima, courtesy of @capybarabath on X
The Science of the Soak
This year’s contest featured a significant rule change regarding bath time. In previous years, all zoos started their clocks simultaneously, but organizers realized this was unfair to capybaras who had different natural routines. According to park officials, starting at a time different from their typical bathing hour was disadvantageous, so each zoo was allowed to start the clock whenever their specific capybara usually takes a dip.
For Hechima, that meant hopping into her bath at 2:10 p.m. under a warm, cascading stream of water. As she began to doze off, visitors watched from a distance, whispering, “Hang in there,” voices muted so as to avoid breaking her concentration. Despite these hushed words of encouragement, she couldn’t quite outlast Prune.
