Mark your calendars! The time has come to announce MAJET’s biggest intercultural event of the year– The 6th Annual Amazing Race!

MAJET’s Amazing Race was started by a group of ambitious JETs who came together to create an event that would combine the knowledge and experience of both English and Japanese speakers by bringing together Japanese and Western culture via a yearly theme. This year’s theme will be a Ghibli-Disney crossover!

For those of you who don’t know, Amazing Race is an exhilarating event in which foreigners and locals team up to complete themed challenges around Miyazaki City just like on the famous TV show! Contestants from all over Miyazaki (and even Kumamoto, Oita, and Kagoshima!) race around the city for the chance to win fabulous prizes, serious bragging rights, and just have an awesome time!

This year’s race will be held on Saturday, April 15th in Miyazaki City. Don’t forget to save the date!

Amazing Race is incredibly popular. However, it takes a lot of planning, creativity, and manpower to make it fun for all, so MAJET is looking for volunteers to help us out!

*Please note that volunteering to help means that you cannot participate in the race as a contestant.

Ways to Help

We’re looking for a variety of creative and energetic people to volunteer. If you’re a fan of Disney or Ghibli and have some neat ideas, we want you! To our Japanese friends, internationalization is very important to us so we’d love to have you involved as well!

If you’d like to help us make this year’s race truly magical, please read the descriptions below and sign up for whichever job(s) you are interested in!

Planners　企画者

From designing the tasks to writing the clues and making the props, Planners will be the masterminds of their own, unique challenge based on this year’s theme. A solid mix of English and Japanese-based mental and physical challenges is needed to ensure the event is fun and accessible for everyone!

We are looking for at least 10 Planners to take the lead on developing this year’s challenges!

In addition to an introductory meeting, Planners will be asked to attend weekly virtual meetings to check the status of each challenge and ensure that development is on schedule. The weekly meetings should last no more than an hour. As the challenge mastermind, we also ask that you be present on the day of the event to man your station. If you cannot attend on April 15th, we suggest that you volunteer as a Planning Assistant instead.

Planning Assistants　アシスタント企画者

Planning is hard work, and sometimes you need someone to bounce ideas off of, or to help make sure all the details are taken care of. That’s where Planning Assistants come in! You will be helping the Planners come up with ideas and make/acquire any materials and props necessary for your challenge.

We are looking for 10-15 Planning Assistants to help our Planners make the best challenges they can!

After the introductory meeting, Planning Assistants will not be required to attend the weekly virtual meetings, but are free to do so when they are able. It is likewise not necessary for Planning Assistants to attend the event on April 15th, though we would be extra grateful if you could. 😉

Sidequest Managers　サイドクエストマネージャー

There are two ways to win the race: fastest time and most points collected. Each challenge awards a certain amount of points based on the team’s performance. However, the best way for teams to really get ahead is by completing sidequests! These mini-games and challenges can be completed separately from the main challenges, and are not tied to any one location. Sidequest Managers will be in charge of developing the rules, rewards, and materials for each quest.

We need 2-4 Sidequest Managers to be in charge of developing fun, challenging, and interesting sidequests for our teams to complete throughout the race!

In addition to an introductory meeting, Sidequest Managers will be asked to attend weekly virtual meetings to check the status of each quest and ensure that development is on schedule. The weekly meetings should last no more than an hour. It is strongly preferred but not absolutely necessary for Sidequest Managers to be present on the day of the event.

Graphic Designers　グラフィックデザイナー

This event is highly publicized compared to other MAJET events, and as such we need lots of eye-catching artwork and graphics to build hype and support while also creating a unique and professional atmosphere for the event. Graphic Designers will be in charge of designing any graphics and artwork related to the event, including logos, challenge/clue cards, banners/signs, etc.

We know artists put a lot of time and effort into their work, so we’d hate to ask just one person to assist with all of our art-related needs. So, we’d like to find 2-3 Graphic Designers to put their stamp on the event!

In addition to an introductory meeting, Graphic Designers will be asked to attend weekly virtual meetings to check the status of each project and ensure that development is on schedule. The weekly meetings should last no more than an hour. Graphic Designers are not required to attend the event on April 15th, though we would be extra grateful if you could. 😉

Event Helpers　お手伝い

On April 15th, you will be the ones running the show! You’ll be operating stations and ensuring that the contestants are completing their tasks. The race is anticipated to run from 09:00 to 17:00. As part of our friendship with the Miyazaki City International Association, there is a possibility of earning daikyuu if you volunteer the day of the race. (However, it is ultimately up to your schools to decide if they will grant you daikyuu or not.) If you are unable to help us with the planning and design, but still want to be a supporting part of the event, this is a great way to get involved!

We are looking for 15-20 Event Helpers to run the show and make the Planners’ visions come to life!

In addition to volunteering on the day of the race, we’ll ask Event Helpers to attend a virtual meeting before the event to go over the event schedule and become acquainted with their stations.

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Volunteer Now!

If you would like to volunteer, please fill out the google form by Friday, February 17th.

Feel free to volunteer in more than one capacity, but please be aware of the time commitments involved. This is a very big event which requires a lot of planning and dedication.

Japanese volunteers: Please note that virtual meetings will be conducted in English.

Remember, volunteering means that you will not be able to participate in the race, so please consider carefully before making your decision.