UNBELIEVABLE! Hundreds of people give their best shot at a bathtub race.

Hundreds tried to paddle their way to victory in Ito, racing traditional Japanese wooden bathtubs down the Matsukawa river for the annual Tarai-nori Kyoso event in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The annual competition features seven races along a route of 400 metres (1,312 ft), with many participants donning costumes.

The race, which started in 1956 and is said to be inspired by the wooden tubs Japanese women used to wash their laundry at Matsukawa river, has become a regional token drawing locals as well as international tourists.