Season 1 - Japan

***Survivor: Japan*** is the first season of the first round of competition to determine the Ultimate Survivor Champion. In this first season, twenty-four castaways from the American version of the reality television show *Survivor* return for their chance to become the Ultimate Survivor Champion. The last eleven contestants left standing will move on to Round 2 of the championship, while the finisher in twelfth place will move on to a Wild Card round held after the twenty seasons in Round 1 are completed.
This season is filmed in Akan National Park on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. It is one of the oldest national parks in Japan, having been established on December 4, 1934. The park is made up of numerous volcanic craters and forests, covering a toal of 904 square miles. It is famous for its crystal clear lakes, hot springs, and large marimo, or a growth of algae into a ball.

## The game

### Episode 1

The three tribes were dropped onto their respective beaches and given meager supplies to begin their journey. On the Kussharo tribe, a bond between Benry, Elyse, and Julie became evident; Ralph and Jeanne found themselves feeling isolated. At Teshikigan, Jed and Nathan worried that their tribe would suffer with both Lisi and Sandy. Meanwhile, Colton immediately began working on Ciera and Morgan for an alliance. At Mashu, Andrew took an early leadership role, which caused Jolanda to see him as a rival. Marcus and Katie began an immediate bond. At their first challenge, the tribes were shocked to see that there were three tribes of eight instead of the assumed two tribes of eight. Jeff Probst announces that for this first challenge, two tribes will win immunity, sending one tribe to Tribal Council. In addition, the tribe that finished first wins a reward of flint. Kussharo ends up finishing first, with Mashu coming in second, sending Teshikigan to the first Tribal Council. Back at camp, Jed and Nathan agree that it should be Lisi or Sandy to leave, and they enlist Dave to join their alliance. However, Colton sees the other three men as threats and attempts to form a counter alliance with the women of the tribe. In the end, Colton's attempts at an alliance and dashed and Lisi becomes the first person voted out in an unanimous vote.

### Episode 2

The Teshikigan tribe returns from Tribal Council and Colton is visibly upset, feeling that his strateg was unfairly thwarted by the "bullies" of Jed and Nathan. Meanwhile, at the Mashu camp, Tom provides some comic relief when Erik cuts his hand on a machete. Erik doesn't find it amusing, but the rest of tribe does. At Kussharo, Michele feels like an outsider because of being the "new kid on the block", while Benry, Julie, Elyse, Spencer, and Will all agree on a pact to the end, with Michele having to be the first sacrifice if need be. At the challenge, Jeff Probst announces that only one tribe will win both reward and immunity; the other two tribes must go to Tribal Council. However, the castaway that performs the best on the two losing tribes will receive Individual Immunity. In the end, Mashu pulls out a victory and wins Immunity, plus a reward of blankets and hammocks. Kussharo must go its first Tribal Council, but Spencer wins individual immunity. Teshikigan must go its second Tribal Council in a row, but Jed pulls out the individual immunity win. Before their Tribal Council, Teshikigan is in a scramble. Colton pleads with Sandy, Morgan, and Ciera to form an alliance of four and vote out Nathan; meanwhile Jed, Nathan, and Dave all agree that Colton is the only option. Ciera and Morgan talk about their options are both equally confused over what to do. At Kussharo, Michele knows she is on the chopping block, so she approaches the younger alliance of Benry, Julie, and Elyse to spare here. They discuss with Spencer and think maybe keeping Michele for her strength would be better than keeping Ralph, who they see as a liability. At their Tribal Council, Colton makes his final plea to Teshikigan to stay, but the rest of the tribe unanimously votes him out 6-1. At Kussharo's Tribal Council, Michele admits to feeling doomed, while Will says he feels confident in the vote. In the end, Benry, Elyse, Julie, and Spencer voted with Michele and eliminated Ralph from the game, much to Will's surprise.

### Episode 3

The Teshikigan tribe returns from its second Tribal Council and make a pledge to each other to try as hard as possible and win as much as they possibly can. Ciera seems the least enthused and thinks that their tribe may be doomed. After their first visit to Tribal Council, the Kussharo tribe returns and Will is shocked that Ralph went home instead of Michele, feeling left out from what he thought was his alliance. Meanwhile, Michele is very thankful to Benry, Elyse, and Julie for her second chance. At Mashu, they are all feeling good going into the next stage of the game, Both Marcus and Colleen separately point out the lack of obvious alliances or groups forming. At their next challenge, Jeff Probst announces that it will work the same as the last challenge; only one tribe will win both reward and immunity, while the other two tribes must go to Tribal Council. One person on each losing team that performs the best gains Individual Immunity. For the first time in the game, the Teshikigan tribe wins a challenge, in the form of Immunity and a reward of a grill, seasonings, and fishing hooks.Kussharo and Mashu must go to Tribal Council. Individual Immunities go to Julie for Kussharo and Marcus for Mashu. Prior to their Tribal Council, Michele is told by Benry, Elyse, and Julie that Jeanne is the next target, and they she owes them for keeping her in the game the last round. Meanwhile, Spencer tells Jeanne that he is afraid of Benry, Elyse, and Julie reaching a point in the game where they have control, because they'll stick together. They approach Michele with the option of voting out Elyse. Will makes an announcement to the tribe that he is not loyal to anyone after the last Tribal Council, making Benry wonder if he is the right choice instead of Jeanne. At Mashu, everybody is confused as to how to go about voting somebody out. Jolanda and Andrew, recognizing themselves as the obvious leaders, decided to put their differences aside and bring in Ruth Marie to see where her head is. Katie and Marcus believe themselves to be sitting pretty, but that irritates Erik who approaches Andrew and Tom about cutting Marcus from the game. Prior to Tribal, nobody seems to know where their vote will land. At Kussharo's Tribal Council, only Will, Jeanne, and Michele admit to feeling as if they could go home. After the voting, Michele sides with Jeanne and Spencer and they are joined by Will to vote out Elyse 4-3. At Mashu's Tribal Council, nobody admits to feeling vulnerable, while Erik says that some people are too confident while others need to step it up in the game. In the end, the majority of the tribe saw Marcus as a threat and he was voted out 6-2, leaving Katie stunned.

### Episode 4

Mashu returns from their first Tribal Council and Katie is visibly upset. Andrew, Erik, and Tom agree that she is insufferable, but Ruth Marie and Colleen think they are being too harsh. At Kussharo, Benry returns from Tribal Council and goes after Michele, who argues that Spencer was the one who came up with the idea, effectively throwing him under the bus. At Teshikigan, they feel rejuvenated after being saved from Tribal Council. Jed, Nathan, and Dave affirm a Final 3 deal, but Dave admits to being a bit hesitant to say it is a definite plan. At the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst announces that whichever tribe wins will also win Immunity. In an extremely close battle between all three tribes, Kussharo pulls out the win and are rewarded with a picnic lunch. On the reward, they are able to put their differences aside and enjoy the day. At Teshikigan, Ciera is determined to switch the power to her and Morgan, so she talks to Sandy and Dave separately to form an alliance against Jed and Nathan. At Mashu, Katie isolates herself and is berated a bit by Tom. At the Immunity Challenge, Kussharo is allowed to sit out and watch Mashu and Teshikigan battle it out. In the end, Mashu crushes Teshikigan and they are forced to go to Tribal Council for the third time. Back at camp, Dave tells Jed about the plans Ciera brought up and he confronts her. In defense mode, Ciera denies everything and says that Dave is the snake. When she approaches Sandy and Morgan to vote out Dave instead of Jed, Sandy seems reluctant. Before Tribal Council, Dave entertains the thought of voting out Jed anyway, not knowing Ciera's change in plan. Meanwhile, Jed and Nathan debate voting out Sandy, who is weakest, and Ciera, who is the most devious. At Tribal Council, Ciera accuses Dave of spreading lies, while Dave counters that she's the liar. In the end, none of it matters, as Dave, Jed, and Nathan band together and vote for Sandy, who votes for Ciera, while Ciera and Morgan vote for Dave.

### Episode 5

The Teshikigan tribe returns from Tribal Council and Ciera is infuriated because none of the people she had vouched for to go home actually did. Nathan mentions to Morgan that the more Ciera goes off, the better Morgan looks to he and Jed. Ciera knows her time is up unless something drastic happens in the game. At Mashu, Andrew begins to regret voting off Marcus when Katie, Colleen, and Ruth Marie look to be forming a grouping. Meanwhile, Jolanda talks to Erik and both agree that Andrew is getting too confident. At Kussharo, Michele and Will get into a heated argument and everybody feels uncomfortable. At the challenge, Jeff Probst announces that everyone drop their buffs, because the three tribes are merging into two. Randomly reaching into a bag of buffs, the new buffs determine the castaways' new tribe. The new Kussharo tribe consists of Benry, Julie, and Michele from old Kussharo; Ciera, Jed, and Morgan from old Teshikigan; and Colleen, Erik, and Ruth Marie from old Mashu. The new Mashu tribe consists of Andrew, Jolanda, Katie, and Tom from old Mashu; Dave and Nathan from old Teshikigan; and Jeanne, Spencer, and Will from old Kussharo. There is no challenge. At the camp of the new Mashu tribe, Andrew, Jolanda, and Tom quickly solidify an alliance, much to Jolanda's hesitation. Meanwhile, Dave and Nathan feel outnumbered, but Dave suggests that their low numbers could be seen as a swing vote instead of a target. Jeanne and Spencer try to appease Will on an alliance, but both are leary of working with him still. At Kussharo, Ciera immediately takes aside Benry, Colleen, Julie, and Michele and tells them that Jed is a snake and not to be trusted. Benry uses this opportunity to call out Michele for past issues in front of the others. Meanwhile, Jed talks to Erik and Ruth Marie about how unreliable Ciera can be. At the Immunity Challenge, the new Kussharo tribe cannot work together and Mashu easily wins. Back at camp, Ciera feels confident that she has Morgan, Benry, Colleen, Julie, and Michele on her side to take out Jed, but Michele is hesitant to work with Benry. She suggests to Jed that the two of them work with Ruth Marie and Erik to get rid of Benry. Jed insists that it has to be Ciera first. Meanwhile, Ruth Marie talks to Colleen about sticking together on the new tribe. At Tribal Council, Ciera says she needed a new beginning, and she finally found one on the new tribe. Ruth Marie says she definitely feels like a target because she is by far the oldest tribe member; however Benry insists that she is not on the chopping block tonight. Kussharo votes, and Benry, Julie, and Morgan are shocked when Michele and Colleen join Jed, Ruth Marie, and Erik and vote out Ciera 5-4.

### Episode 6

The Kussharo tribe returns from Tribal Council and Michele is once again lambasted for being a liar. Morgan is upset that her only true ally is gone, but realizes that with Ciera gone and the tension being shifted, she may actually be in a good spot. Erik becomes a little too cocky for many of the others to handle, and Julie calls him out on it. At Mashu, Katie gets irritated with Will's laziness, but Andrew thinks that she's marginally more important than Will. Andrew, Tom, Dave, and Nathan talk, and decide to form an alliance of the four men, with Jeanne and Spencer as fringe members. Dave laughs at the prospect and says he truly only cares about himself, and then marginally Nathan. At the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst announces that both tribes will be attending Tribal Council and this challenge is for reward. The two people who perform the best on their tribe will win Individual Immunity, and then compete against each other for Reward. Jolanda and Erik perform the best, thus they receive the Immunity and then face each other. In an upset from behind, Jolanda pushes ahead and wins Mashu a reward of chicken noodle soup, Coke products, and chocolate chip cookies, to be eaten during the Kussharo Tribal Council. Back at the Mashu camp, Katie realizes that the others maybe fractured, but not fractured enough to turn against each other - yet. She campaigns against Will very vehemently to Jeanne and Jolanda. Meanwhile, Will feels pretty confident that Spencer and Jeanne have his back, and that Katie is the one going home. At Kussharo, Erik tells Morgan that she is done for, which puts her gears into action. She talks to Benry, Colleen, and Julie about finally pulling a blindside and voting out Michele, who nobody really trusts. They pull in Jed, and Benry makes his final plea to vote her out. Jed admits to never really having anything against Morgan. At Mashu's Tribal Council, Katie says that Andrew is too confident and cocky, which makes him angry. However, when the votes are read, Will is shocked when he is unanimously voted out of the tribe. At Kussharo's Tribal Council, Ruth Marie says she will always feel vulnerable because of her age, while Morgan almost accepts defeat. In the end, however, Benry, Colleen, Julie, and Morgan band together and vote for Michele, and they are joined by a convinced Jed, sending a tearful Michele home in a 5-3 vote.

### Episode 7

The Kussharo tribe returns from Tribal Council and Ruth Marie is stunned. She immediately knows that Jed and Colleen must have switched and she confronts them, but is interrupted by an angry Erik. Colleen tells Erik she thinks he's a hothead, and he goes off on his own to fume. At Mashu, Katie thanks everyone for keeping her, but Tom jokes that it's only for a few more days. Jeanne tells him to tone it down a bit. At the Reward Challenge, the Kussharo tribe is confident they will finally win, but they are crushed by Mashu once again. Mashu wins a pizza party back at their camp. During the party, Tom is accused of eating too much, and he gets sick. Katie takes the opportunity to point out what a liability Tom is, but is rebuked by Andrew. However, she says just enough to get Jolanda, Dave, and Spencer to meet and discuss if she has a point. Back at Kussharo, Julie and Morgan are devestated by another loss and are comforted by Ruth Marie. Meanwhile, Jed talks to Erik about toning down his abrassiveness, but Erik just argues that their alliance is in control so he doesn't have to worry. At the Immunity Challenge, Tom's smack talk to Kussharo makes Benry and Erik angry. Once again, Mashu wins handily and sends Kussharo to Tribal Council for the third time since the three tribes became two. At camp, Erik is confident that he, Jed, Ruth Marie, and Colleen will vote out Morgan, but Colleen admits to second thoughts. Benry and Julie talk to Colleen about joining them and Morgan and getting rid of Erik, who is too much of a loose cannon. Colleen finds Ruth Marie torn as well, and they weight the options of voting out the physically weaker Morgan, or the mentally weaker Erik. At Tribal, Erik is still confident. Despite his vote for Morgan, and Jed throwing a vote to Julie, Erik is stunned to see his name come up five times, and he is voted out of the tribe.

### Episode 8

The Kussharo tribe returns from Tribal Council, and nobody feels very good. Ruth Marie has a private breakdown and doesn't think her tribe can make it very much farther. Meanwhile, Julie tells Jed she understands his vote and hopes that they can finally come together to win some challenges. At Mashu, tempers flare between Katie and Andrew, with Tom joining in and making Jeanne and Spencer mad. Jolanda doesn't know if her tribe can keep it together. At the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst tells the castaways to drop their buffs, because the two tribes are going to become one. Some are ecstatic for the change, while others seem concerned. They are sent to the old Teshikigan camp and told to pick a tribe name. After much deliberation, they decide to combine the names of the tribes and come up with Tesharu. Benry, Colleen, Julie, and Morgan plan to stay together, while Jed is happy to be reunited with Dave and Nathan. Ruth Marie is welcomed into the fold of Andrew, Tom, Jolanda, Jeanne, and Spencer, but Jolanda is concerned with Andrew's willingness to openly accept somebody new into the alliance. At the first Individual Immunity, Jeff Probst announces that one man and one woman will win Immunity. After a tough fight, Andrew narrowly defeats Jed, while Ruth Marie comes from nowhere to claim the female victory. Back at camp, Katie tells Benry, Julie, Colleen, and Morgan that Andrew, Tom, Jolanda, Jeanne, and Spencer are joining together. They decide to bring in Dave, Nathan, and Jed and target Tom for elimination. However, Nathan is dead set on sticking with the new Kussharo tribe alliance, and insists that Jed votes with them for Benry. Prior to Tribal Council, Ruth Marie feels conflicted on who to vote for, because she doesn't seem to have a really strong bond with anyone. At Tribal Council, everybody admits to feeling a little overwhelves with fourteen castaways and only one person going home. When asked if voting would fall down old tribal lines, Katie bluntly says no. The votes are cast, and in the Benry is voted out by a majority of his fellow tribemates.

### Episode 9

After they return from Tribal Council, Morgan confronts Jed about not sticking together, and he tells her that he needs to play the best game for himself, not for her. Colleen, regretting voting in the minority, talks to Ruth Marie about rekindling an alliance. Katie, furious about the betrayls from the night before, takes Spencer aside and lays out everything she knows about the other tribemates, hoping to gain his trust. At the Reward Challenge, Jolanda pulls out a major win over Dave. She is taken to a spa for relaxation and a big lunch, and choses to take Dave, Jeanne, and Spencer with her. While they are away, they make a plan to stick together, and Dave confesses that he likes this alliance better than his with Nathan and Jed. Back at camp, Ruth Marie is taken aside by Andrew and Tom and promised safety, and that Jolanda, Jeanne, and Spencer are in with them as well. Ruth Marie admits to being afraid of being on the bottom of an alliance. At the Immunity Challenge, Andrew pulls out another win, much to Katie and Morgan's chagrin. Back at camp, Andrew feels very confident that everyone will be voting for Katie to be voted out, except Katie and Morgan. However, Colleen and Ruth Marie both are worried about going with them, and talk to Jed, Dave, and Nathan about flipping the vote and taking out one of Andrew's allies. Dave feels conflicted about what to do, and admits to not making his mind up until he makes it Tribal Council. At Tribal, Andrew says that he is confident on who is going home, while Katie admits to feeling hopeless. When the votes are read, it is Katie who goes home, but not by the margin Andrew expected. Jeff Probst surprises everyone and says that Tribal Council isn't over, and that they will immediately have another Immunity Challenge and somebody else is going home. Colleen wins the Immunity Challenge. Jeff gives them a few minutes to strategize, and Andrew immediately asks the whole group who voted for Jolanda and not Katie, to which only Morgan and Julie raise their hands.Julie points out how angry Andrew is and asks if people really want him to stick around. Ruth Marie confesses to not feeling safe in Andrew's alliance and voting with the minority, to which Andrew immediately denounces Ruth Marie with. They tribe votes again, and Ruth Marie is stunned when her honesty is enough to get her sent packing. However, Jeff Probst announces that because Ruth Marie finished in 12th place, she does not automatically move on to Round 2, but will be competing in a Wild Card season instead.