chiba-kun ambassador ceremony

As I mentioned earlier, I was selected to be a Chiba-kun Ambassador, and last Thursday we had our induction ceremony! I don't think there's really too much to say about it without being too boring, but I felt like it was worth its own post nonetheless (if only for the copious amounts of pictures of Chiba-kun that come with it, haha).

I showed up at the Prefectural Office and was greeted by our lovely PA and a chair of exciting-looking stuff, including a limited Chiba-kun Ambassador pin and my very own mini Chiba-kun! I happened to be seated with all the other new Chiba-kun Ambassadors who I already knew, which was great.

As far as the ceremony itself, it went much as you'd probably expect - we each received a certificate (or something) officially naming us Chiba-kun Ambassadors, got to hear some remarks from the Governor (who used to be an actor!), and took lots of pictures. Including both group and personal shots with the prefectural mascot, Chiba-kun, who is shaped like the prefecture (when viewed from the side) and despite what you may think, is not Clifford or even a red dog, but rather a 'mysterious creature'! You could tell he was the most popular one in the room, naturally. :P

Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to getting to know all the other Ambassadors, who all seem like cool people, starting with our first tour in two weeks! I can tell this will definitely be a big part of my second year on JET (which officially starts next month, what), so I hope to make the most out it (by which I mean spam everybody in every possible way with information about the prefecture, so be prepared)! :D