Hana Oba Of =LOVE Named Saitama Tourism Ambassador
Hana Oba, a =LOVE member from Saitama Prefecture, was appointed Saitama Tourism Ambassador at a ceremony at Saitama City Hall on October 1, 2026. Mayor Hayato Shimizu handed her the commission letter and the ambassador's sash.
1 source 1h ago
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
Why it matters
Oba's appointment ties a =LOVE member's existing role promoting Saitama City on the Tsunagu Tabi site to an official city post, giving the Tourism and International Affairs Division a singer from the prefecture as its public face.
Key Facts
- Hana Oba of =LOVE was appointed Saitama Tourism Ambassador at a ceremony held at Saitama City Hall on October 1, 2026.
- Saitama City Mayor Hayato Shimizu handed Oba the commission letter and the tourism ambassador's sash.
- Oba visited the Saitama City Omiya Bonsai Art Museum on a previous installment of the Tsunagu Tabi site.
- Oba's first visit after taking office was to Saitama City's Tourism and International Affairs Division.
- Saitama City has 11 mailboxes themed on its PR character Tsunaga Ryu Nu.
Oba named the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum and the Squirrel House at Shimin no Mori among her favorite spots, and said she wants to learn and share more of the city.
The ceremony opened with city staff walking through the procedure before Mayor Hayato Shimizu handed over the commission letter and sash. Oba, who had visited the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum on an earlier installment of Tsunagu Tabi, talked about becoming absorbed in bonsai there, then moved on to spots from her childhood in the group interview.
Her first stop after taking office was the Tourism and International Affairs Division, the department that runs Tsunagu Tabi. Saitama City's PR character Tsunaga Ryu Nu met her there and led her to one of the Nu-themed mailboxes near City Hall.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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