Volunteering with NicoNico Tomato in the pediatrics department at Kyoto University Hospital has been a great experience thus far, both in the context of Japanese culture, as well as volunteer work. Although we do different things every week and I never know what to expect, the other volunteers are all very warm and welcoming, and so working with them at Nico Toma [what we call NicoNico Tomato] is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.
Nico Toma makes a huge effort to brighten up the pediatrics department in the little ways it can, from seasonal decorations to holiday cards, to posting photos of the children to arts and craft activities – it’s a very craft-focused group overall.
In the midst of coloring and cutting paper alongside the other Japanese volunteers, volunteering at Nico Toma has also been an interesting and rewarding cultural experience. From sharing in afternoon tea-time to just observing how hard everybody works, Nico Toma has a relaxing atmosphere to just casually interact with Japanese people.
As far as cultural observations, the energy and detail Nico Toma volunteers put into their many crafts is very impressive. At times it can be frustrating to adhere to how meticulous they are about minute details, but I also appreciate their efforts to always do the best job possible, in whatever it is they are doing.
However, something that has been made clearer to me by working at Nico Toma is the Japanese’s love for plastic wrapping and presentation. For a special bazaar event, Nico Toma set up a small market-type event for children at the hospital and their parents to buy toys and other small gifts. As we prepared for it the previous week, I noticed how much plastic is used. Any accessory or small item was packaged in a clear plastic. While I recognize that presentation is important, many of the goods wrapped would be fine unwrapped. This isn’t inherently bad, but I thought the level of plastic usage was a bit ironic given Japan’s mentality to reduce waste.
Nonetheless, Nico Toma has been a very fun experience. I always look forward to volunteering every week, and although a lot of the volunteer work is helping with crafts and other events for the hospital, there are opportunities to interact with the children as well. From helping the children with an afternoon calligraphy activity to chatting with the other weekly volunteers while gluing and cutting construction paper, I’ve found Nico Toma to be a great community of volunteers who are committed to doing what they can to brighten up the hospital.
Thumbs up for your comment on the plastic use. But have you tried to bring this up/ offer suggestions regarding such issue to other volunteers at Nico Toma? I wonder what their response was, or will be.
Hmm, well the plastic-use was a one time thing for the special bazaar event, but even so, I don’t know what I’d tell them…they use it to make everything look nice and new, which I do understand. If I were to ask, I think they’d probably agree, but still use the plastic because they do everything they can to make everything the best quality it can be. I don’t think they’d compromise the quality for a little plastic. However, if the plastic was, for example, something just for the office, that isn’t being used for the children or something [say to store supplies or something], then I think they might consider doing something about it.
An example of this is NicoToma posts a lot of photos of the children in the pediatrics ward, and they change the photos quite frequently. They do try to save and reuse the tape that they use to post the photos…so there is some thought to not waste. However, those types of “sacrifices” are made behind-the-scenes.