CHI-BA+KUN Ambassador

Yesterday I was officially sworn-in as a CHI-BA+KUN Ambassador! Do you remember who Chiba-kun is? A couple of posts back, I wrote about Chiba prefecture's beloved mascot, Chiba-kun...

CHI-BA+KUN ambassadors are “Ambassadors to Spread Chiba Prefecture’s Charm to the World Together with CHI-BA+KUN” (abbreviated CHI-BA+KUN). Basically our job is to promote Chiba Prefecture and all it has to offer. Throughout the course of one year I will blog, post and tweet about my excursions in Chiba including the food, people, entertainment and culture.

I get to share this honor with 19 other non-Japanese natives. The requirements for being a Chiba-kun ambassador are:

1. must live in Chiba
2. are a foreigner/exchange student
3. must LOVE Chiba!

I, of course, meet all three criteria (especially number 3!) You can learn more about the CHI-BA+KUN ambassador program here:
http://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kokusai/english/information/residents/ambassadors.html

At last, I finally meet Chiba-kun!

The swearing-in ceremony was in Chiba City (about a 2 hour train ride from Tonosho.) We met at the Prefectural government's assembly hall and were debriefed on the day's proceedings and our duties as ambassadors. The ceremony began and we were each handed our official certificates.

Yes! Its official!

After we all received our certificates, lots of pictures were taken (Chiba-kun got the most attention) and we got some time to socialize and get to know one another. We also received a pretty cool CHI-BA+KUN ambassador pin!

This is what the pin looks like. These are made specifically for the CHI-BA+KUN ambassadors.

I really enjoyed myself at the ceremony and all the other ambassadors are extremely nice. Several countries are represented by the ambassadors including the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea, Italy, Germany, China, Mongolia and the Philippines among others. I will be blogging more about Chiba (specifically for CHI-BA+KUN ambassador) and letting everyone know all the neat places to visit and things to do in Chiba! Our first group tour as Chiba-kun ambassadors is to Choshi on June 24th. Stay tuned for the blog post!

Here's your parting shot, all 20 CHI-BA+KUN ambassadors and the governor of Chiba in the middle :)