Squid Emperor, Squid Boy, and Squid Brian, named after famous equine counterparts, are regular starters in this tiny village on the northern tip of Japan's main island.

``They have individual characters just like humans,'' says Hiroshi Isosu, a municipal official of Kazamaura. ``Some swim smoothly. Some start swimming in the opposite direction, and others spit ink in defiance to prodding.''Punters can get in on the race by buying more than 100 yen (less than a dollar) worth of any local speciality, such as dried squid, for the chance to cheer on the cephalopod of choice and win 3,000 yen (21 dollars) worth of delicacies.

A 10-legged novice can be harnessed for 600 yen (four dollar) from the ``Living Squid Stockpile Centre'' and entered for the 20-metre (66-foot) dash.

The squid race, registered atthe patent office, is just one of a myriad of tactics used by Japan's isolated villages to bring in the valuable tourist. Some succeed, some fail spectacularly. ``Ah... it was three days later that we saw our number one title crushed by a 351-meter (1,158-feet) slide in (the western town of) Kozuki,'' a village official hesititantly admitted.

Kozuki itself was outdistanced three months later. The competition has now taken enthusiasts into the 500-meter (1,650-feet) range.

Minami village in central Japan built what it claims is the world's largest sundial last year, investing 2.2 billion yen (15 million dollars) in the clock and other facilities.The sundial's pointer is 37.3-meters (123-feet) tall, eclipsing the 36.5 meters (120-feet) on the sundial at Florida's Disney World.

Rivalry among villages for the high ground can go downhill fast. Tabayama Town in central Japan completed a 247-meter (904-feet) slide in May 1990 to claim the country's longest ride.

One of the most successful ideas has been the``Japan's shortest letter'' contest launched by the central Japan town of Maruoka. With support from post offices, the town called in 1994 for people to send in `Letters to Mom' of no more than 35 Japanese characters.

``Many publishers approached us offering to release a book of prize-winning letters,'' said Masanari Omawari, secretary general of Maruoka's Cultural Foundation.

The town sold 1.3 million copies of `Short Letters to Mom' and has raked in 200 million yen (1.4 million dollars).

One prize-winning letter from 30-year-old Sachiko Hamabe reads:
My mother's words when she farted,"That's nothing", Have become my support.In the southwestern town of Kamikatsu, the Japanese desire to feel a sense of the seasons has turned into a 200 million yen (1.4 million dollar) a year business for 190 farmers, who nip the tiny leaves that garnish traditional foods.

The southern village of Hayama spent more than 100 million yen (690,000 dollars) to buy 116 deer as an attraction, but it had to kill them allafter an outbreak of pneumonia.