Tourism is one of those careers that is a good fit for JETs - after all, we are passionate advocates for our second homes in Japan, and have explored every nook and cranny, probably more so than locals who have lived there all their lives. Continuing with the theme of ex-JETs who now work in the Japanese public sector, we'll be speaking to our guest, Andy Coombs, who currently works for the Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association. He'll talk about what's involved, the challenges, his ambitions for Fukushima tourism, the benefits of selectively and softly applying the gaijin-smash approach, and of course, since we're both ex-JETs from Fukushima, we'll be shamelesly flying the flag and showing much rabu-rabu (love) for the best little prefecture in Japan.

A mild language advisory warning since we (ok me) will be swearing just a teeny-tiny bit.

Andy manages the following official Fukushima Tourism social media channels:
- Fukushima Tourism on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Fukushima.Guide/
- Fukushima Tourism on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fukushima.guide/
- Fukushima Tourism site - https://fukushima-guide.jp/

We mentioned several places of interest on the podcast:
- Aizuwakamatsu, the samurai city: http://samurai-city.jp/en/
- Lake Inawashiro: https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1743/
- Goshikunuma (Five Coloured Lakes): https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/attractions/detail_1287.html
- Soma Nomaoi (Samurai Festival): https://www.kyuhoshi.com/soma-nomaoi/
- Iizaka Kenka Matsuri (Fighting Festival): https://voyapon.com/fukushima-iizaka-kenka-matsuri/
- Yanaizu Hadaka Mairi (Naked Temple Visit): https://rediscoverfukushima.com/2018/01/10/yanaizu-naked-man-festival/
- Iwaki: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7775.html

For the translating accreditation and other associations mentioned in this podcast:
- JAT (Japan Association of Translators): https://jat.org/
- NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters - Australia only): https://www.naati.com.au/
- Fukushima International Association: http://www.worldvillage.org/english/

Music for this episode: "Coming Home" (from Step by Step) by Stefano Vita is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and available on freemusicarchive.org