Chiba Kun Ambassador, Again

"We would like to have you as one of the

 Chiba Kun Ambassadors again this year"

International Division of

Chiba Prefectural Office

The appointment certificate presented to the Chiba Kun Ambassadors.

Oppps, I did it again lol!

And so, this is gonna be my second consecutive year to be one of the Chiba Kun Ambassadors (チーバくん大使). My journey with this interesting project started about a year ago, when I came across a pamphlet at the International Education Center of Chiba University. The requirements are basically quite simple - you gotta be a foreigner and ready to promote the uniqueness of Chiba Prefecture through various social media such as personal blogs and Facebook. You can take a look at a more detailed description about Chiba Kun Ambassador on its official site here.

The moment I saw that, I knew that it is something that fits my interest very well. I love taking photos, I love to crap in my blog, and I thought why not I give it a try. So, the first year ended with three tours to various spots around Chiba Prefecture. We were brought to experience various kinds of fantastic tourists spots, to try on delicious local delicacies, and also not forgetting, having the chance of being featured in Chiba TV early this year.

Being interviewed at Chiba University by Mr Takahashi (right), the director from Chiba TV (photo credit: Masataka Ishizaki).

A letter of appreciation from the International Division of Chiba Prefectural Office for being part of the project last year. 

We were given a Chiba Kun badge as a souvenir as well.

Our period of appointment for the first batch was scheduled to end this month, and a brand new batch of Chiba Kun Ambassador would be elected. Initially I wanted to apply to be Chiba Kun Ambassadors again this year. However I have since moved to Tokyo and technically no longer a Chiba Prefecture resident, which is supposed to be one of the requirements to apply to be a Chiba Kun Ambassador. 

However, guess what? They made a special exemption for my case, and sent me a personal request to be join the project again this year. Sounds so damn cool, isn't it?

The new group of Chiba Kun Ambassadors this year, who posed together with Chiba Kun himself and Morita Kensaku (森田健作), 

the governor of Chiba Prefecture (photo credit: Masataka Ishizaki).

Taking another group photo in front of the countdown board to Chiba Aqua Line Marathon this coming autumn (photo credit: Masataka Ishizaki).

This project, which enters its second year, started a couple of months earlier than the previous year. The appointment ceremony (任命式) was held early this week but unfortunately, I couldn't attend it due to work commitments.

This year, there are twenty Chiba Kun Ambassadors appointed from nine countries. Just like last year, I am the sole representative from Malaysia. Nevertheless, it provides me with a great chance to mingle with the rest of the Chiba Kun Ambassadors, who come from China, Taiwan, America, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and Netherlands. This year, the group is much more diverse because we have an equal number of Ambassadors from each parts of the world, although half of them still come from China and Taiwan.

Despite not making to the appointment ceremony, see what I got! Besides the appointment certificate, there were also several pamphlets, 

Chiba Kun Ambassadors badge and goods, including the tumbler which is a limited edition item.

I came across an interesting writing from Ivan Prakasa, a fellow Chiba Kun Ambassador this year from Indonesia, who had his friends wondering if he does not longer love his motherland after becoming Chiba Kun Ambassador which helps to promote the prefecture to the world. His reply went something like this:

""Menjadi duta pariwisata di negeri orang bukan berarti kita tidak mencintai negeri sendiri. Justru dengan menjadi baik di negeri orang kita secara tidak langsung akan mengenalkan negeri kita kepada orang lain."

Translation: "To be an ambassador in a foreign land does not mean we no longer love our motherland. That's because being a great role model, showing a good attitude while living in a foreign country indirectly will reflect a good image on our country".

Gonna be the Chiba Kun Ambassador for the second year running, but the sheer enthusiasm just gets bigger.

For more than five years since I came to Japan in 2007, I am proud to say that besides the main purpose of coming here to study, I have involved myself with various kinds of local projects which had indirectly promote Malaysia to the Japanese community and the world. At the same time, I got to expend my network and knowing new people from different backgrounds and sometimes, I get to learn something new from these amazing people. I guess besides being an ambassador for Chiba Prefecture, I am doing the same thing as a duta kecil (small ambassador) for Malaysia at the same time.

I bet it is gonna be another interesting journey for us, the Chiba Kun Ambassadors this year. There will be four tours scheduled for this fiscal year, and the first one is gonna be this coming weekend to another few interesting spots in the eastern side of Chiba Prefecture. So, stay tuned for more updates soon!

Laos Festival 2012

"Yen sabai"

closing words at
Laos Festival 2012

The sights and sounds of Laos Festival 2012 from the main stage.

"Yen sabai". Those are the two words that sum up so much of the Lao spirit which was left ringing in the ears as Tokyo bid farewell to its second annual Laos Festival 2012 on Sunday evening. "Yen means cool, and "sabai" means comfortable. Combine the two words and it is something like wishing everyone well. Correct me just in case I'm wrong here.

The event was organised by the Embassy of Laos to Japan in conjunction with the Tokyo Kokusai Gakuen Senior High School and the Japan Lao Parliamentary Friendship League. The venue of the festival was at Yoyogi Park's event plaze, in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo - the same venue for the Thai Festival a fortnight earlier. This spot is a common venue for an array of festivals, including the Jamaican Festival, Sri Lanka Festival and Brazilian Festival. The latter two though, are usually held in late summer.

Every food stalls enjoyed brisk business as visitors queued up to get some authentic local food.

If the Thai has Singha Beer, Laos has their very own Beer Lao. How about Malaysia? Todi? Haha!!!

If you had dropped by at the Thai Festival and One Love Jamaica Festival earlier in the month, you probably was put off by the incredibly huge turnout at the two festivals. However, things were less claustrophobic during the weekend's celebration of little old Laos. It was a very much toned down version compared to the Thai and Jamaican festivals.

On a balmy spring weekend, tens of thousands of curious locals and international flocked the city's popular Yoyogi Park event plaza. Saturday saw the peak of visitors, who did not wanna miss out on trying out the nation's favourite ale and browsing Laotian silk products and ethnic handicrafts on display. Though inclement weather dented visitor numbers on Sunday, there was still a solid attendance. Needless to say, the Lao expatriate community consisting of business people, diplomatic officials and students were there in force, promoting the nation.

 One of the popular food stalls at the festival which offers Lao and Thai food. It has a wide variety of food and the price is slightly cheaper than other stalls.

The queue stretched for almost 100 meters and there were two lines at one time!

The chef working on his pad thai. Hopefully there wasn't any additional natural flavor enhancer dripped from his body lol!

The money collector, who just dumped all the notes in a plastic bag haha!

A set of pad thai and spicy minced meat with glutinous rice. I am so addicted to pad thai haha wtf!

Finally, a traditional Lao food. Chicken soup with rice noodle and meatball. This was not bad.

It is said the way to the heart is through the stomach, and more than a few Japanese were won over to popular Lao culinary staples such as papaya salad, Luang Prabang sausage and the ever popular laap. It is never easy to get the locals to try something they have not seen before in their life. However, curiosity got over them and most of them did not wanna missed out on joining the queues at the numerous Laotian or Thai food stalls, trying samples of Laotian rum, buying tropical fruit and vegetables from Laos, and drinking Laotian beer.

One thing however, despite the fact that it was the Laos Festival, I saw more stalls selling Thai food than Laotian food. Moreover, there were also stalls selling Turkish kebab and French delicacies. It seems like it is more like an United Nations' Festival haha!

Few Japanese futsal players decided to have some kebab during their break.

One of the stalls that sells French food at Laos Festival.

No Lao festive gathering would be complete without music and dance, and the crowd was not left disappointed. Resplendent in the national dress of sinh and sash, pop singer Alexandra showed her vocal range and won over more than a few of the audience to her soulful sounds. Headlining Saturday evening's lineup was The Cells, who put on a blistering performance that had the crowd up and dancing. To the right of stage, a particularly energetic group of young Lao and Japanese led the way, and before long the crowd was up and dancing.

This years also marks the "Visit Laos Year 2012" and this festival was  indeed a great opportunity for the nation to promote its beautiful country and for visitors to pick up Laos-related travel and cultural information.

Stage performers singing to popular Laotian tunes.

They were also joined by dancers clad in colourful traditional Laotian costumes.

A demonstration of how to make papaya salad, by the staff from the Embassy of Laos in Japan.

Among the ingredients used when preparing Laos dishes.

Visitors get to try on the food for free and everyone just rushed onto the stage to get some taste of the food haha!

My DIY plate of Laotian glutinous rice and meat, with extra ingredients of various spices and herbs haha!

Tropical fruits were on sale too.

Handicrafts and clothings at some of the booths

On a more serious note, NGOs and Japanese partner organisations were also in attendance, sharing ideas with festival attendees on important challenges faced in developing the nation. Tokyo's Minsai Centre, which works in partnership with EDF Laos on education development programmes, was one such organisation. The Minsai Centre’s Aiki Sekiguchi said the festival was a great opportunity for Japanese people with an interest in Laos to further their knowledge while enjoying themselves. 

"We really want to tell them all the great things about Laos, and also what is happening with development. The children of Laos really need to go to school, and I think Japan and the Japanese are really in a position to assist in a way that is very beneficial," Mr Sekiguchi said.

I didn't spend too long at the festival as I was actually on my way to the futsal game in Kamata later that afternoon. So, that is roughly about the Laos Festival this year. Thank you for reading and by the way, do drop some comments down at the comment's box-lar, okay? Comments have been really scarce lately haha!