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It ain’t promoted if it ain’t mascoted. That’s how it’s always been you silly gaijin.

Whoops! Budget’s all gone and we only have a mascot. Why would we tell them about the uncontrolled and irascible Pacific anyway? Not until it’s tamed and blanderised. We need safe, familiar, tamed and delicious. Oh, and cute*

* see mascot.

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Maybe I should be pleased. More Pacific for me!

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I've been wanting to visit Japan for literally half my life, but now that I think about it I can't recall having seen any publicity campaigns for Japanese tourism at all. (I suppose I must have seen something, sometime?)

As far as Chiba goes, I automatically associate it with cyberpunk-classic Neuromancer , the first part of which is titled 'Chiba City Blues'. (The original 'Night City'.) I expect that says more about me than anything else.

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Ah but you are yet another that sees tech in Chiba! Verrrry interesting. There is clearly an entire subculture (younger than me) that I’m missing. I would call you guys, North Chibaites. The Makuhari Expo Boyz. I’m more fishing, golfing, snoring South Chibaite. Both are very real.

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At first glance I thought the mascot was supposed to be a pencil-nosed FISH; an anorexic cousin to Clifford the Big Red Fish.

Whenever I pass through Chiba, my first thought that it's a futuristic coastal trading hub with spacious expo venues. A fan of scifi would appreciate Chiba's seaside intergalactic allure. Indeed Chiba's a coastal gem with massive conventions, and also amazing aquariums full of colorful fish. The tourism board should've chosen a cute shark pup as its mascot.

I remember petitioning to the Hiroshima tourism board to promote their local one-of-a-kind wildlife; their dragon-filled kagura theaters; their fabled prehistoric pyramid kofun; and their WWII maritime naval ship museum that would arouse the war historian's hormones much more - in addition to the usual okonomiyaki/shrine/A-Bomb dome spiel. Alas, the petition fell into deaf ears and the board keeps spending more money on the same usual motifs on replay, but at least they've invested on modernized improvements to keep up with the times. At least Hiro's still bringing in tourists all year round with minimal effort.. so I suppose the tourism board here is apathetic to tackling new themes when they already have monumental cash cows. Shrug. "Why remake the wheel when the wheel's already working neat", they must've thought. Though I just hope they got contingency plans to keep the economy afloat (of which tourism's a massive contributor) just in case another mega lockdown occurs.

Primo

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I’m interested that you find Chiba very expo, fish, techno. You’re right--particularly of course the Makuhari facility and the aquariums! There’s a Sea World in Kamogawa that seems incredibly successful--people from my area resent the Kamogawans for “taking all the tourists” with that thing.

I though won’t go to Sea World type stuff--too close to a zoo, which I find distasteful to say the least.

Aquariums however I LOVE!!

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