【Activity Report】 Trash Pickup as Japanese Culture! — One Thing NY de Volunteer Want to Share with You at Japan Parade

Hello everyone! We’re NY de Volunteer!

Under the fresh green skies of spring, we joined the Japan Parade held on Saturday, May 10th, along Central Park West. This marks our fourth year participating in the event.

＜A Day Packed with Japanese Charm＞

Japan Parade is New York’s largest Japanese cultural event, showcasing everything from traditional arts to pop culture. This year, over 110 groups participated, making it the biggest parade yet!

Performances included Taiko drumming, Hanagasa dancing, and Kendo demonstrations. Beloved characters like Hello Kitty and Gundam appeared, along with cast members from the musical adaptation of “Attack on Titan,” thrilling the crowds lining the streets.

＜Grand Finale with Trash Pickup - Ending on a High Note＞

NY de Volunteer took on a unique role in the parade: cleaning up trash at the very end.

There’s a Japanese proverb, “Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu,” which means “A bird leaving its perch doesn’t foul the nest.”

It reflects the Japanese value of leaving no trace and being considerate of others.

We’ve continued this cleanup activity at Japan Parade to share this spirit with New York City.

＜Trash as Treasure?＞

This year, 24 participants—16 volunteers from across NYC and 8 staff—joined the effort. We walked the parade route, picking up paper scraps and plastic bottles one by one.

At first, we thought, “Maybe there’s not much trash?” But once we started, we entered a “trash pickup loop,” finding one piece after another like a treasure hunt.

There were moments of perfect teamwork: one person would chase a flying scrap of paper and pin it down with their foot, while another grabbed it with a litter picker.

As we worked, we heard cheers from the sidelines: “You guys are amazing!” “Thank you for your support!”

Some even handed us trash they’d picked up themselves. These moments reminded us that our efforts were truly reaching people.

One parents who joined with their children shared:

“It was their first volunteer experience. They were surprised by how much trash was on the street, and felt happy when people said, ‘Thank you!’ as they picked it up. It was a great way to experience and learn about Japan’s clean culture firsthand.”

We believe that sparking awareness through volunteer experiences is the true signature strength of NY de Volunteer.

＜Starting Small Is Just Fine＞

No special skills, time, or preparation needed.

All you need is a trash bag and motivation—cleanup volunteering can start today.

If you feel volunteering is a bit like intimidating, we would say:

It’s okay to start small.

If our activities inspire someone to think “I’ll give it a try,” we couldn’t be happier.

＜In Closing＞

NY de Volunteer will continue creating opportunities to “connect with society while having fun.”

Whether you’re curious about volunteering or just want to try it once, you’re more than welcome.

Why not start volunteering in New York with us?

We collected a total of 9 bags of trash! Thank you to everyone who participated!!

Reported by Mone

Staff Member, NY de Volunteer