中野区国際交流協会（ANIC）

On the twenty-sixth of December (a Thursday), the Japanese-language students of ANIC, students of the East-West Japanese Language School, and Matthew from the Friday volunteer group– participated in a year-end night patrol. There were ten participants; they hailed from China, Taiwan, the United States, and Vietnam.
The participants were taught the traditional expression used for these occasions: “Hi no youjin”(Watch for fire). Utlizing wooden clappers, we patrolled around the Nakano Zero shouting Hi no yojin. They experienced a winter tradition of Japan and were fed oshiruko—a sweet red-bean soup. This warmed us when we finished the walk.