On August 25th, Shusaku Nishikawa and Toshikazu Teruuchi visited Saitama Children's Medical Center and Ronald McDonald House Saitama (hereafter referred to as Saitama House), a facility for families of sick children located within the hospital.



This marks Nishikawa's third consecutive visit, and five years if online exchanges are included. It all started with Nishikawa's desire to "do something for the children in his hometown." He has visited and interacted with his teammates every year, but this time he brought along young player Teruuchi.

Upon arriving at the Children's Medical Center, the two first greeted Vice Director Watanabe Shoji and presented him with a commemorative gift before heading to Saitama House.



When the pair arrived at Saitama House, they received a warm welcome at the entrance. They were greeted by the volunteer staff, the families staying there, and members of the Liver Transplant Family Association as they made their way to the living room, where they called the children who were there over to the sofa and soon began interacting with them. They spent a pleasant time together, with the players speaking to the children and listening to the families' stories. At the end of the day, they exchanged gifts and took a commemorative photo together before leaving Saitama House.









Next, the pair visited the wards of the Children's Medical Center, where they were again met with a warm welcome. The joy of the children and families who had been looking forward to their visit was palpable, with a boy in uniform waiting with autographed autographs in hand and a girl eagerly awaiting their arrival so they could present the players with handmade medals. While in the wards, they loaded Reds merchandise onto a Heartful Cart (a cart that distributes daily necessities and toys free of charge to support hospitalized children and their families) and enjoyed conversations with each patient while handing out presents.







The two interacted with each child carefully, exchanged words with them, and readily agreed to sign autographs and take commemorative photos. For children who were unable to meet them directly due to infection control measures, they spoke and took photos through a door, striving to bring cheer to as many children as possible. It was a warm moment, filled with smiles from the children and their families who shared such a special time.

After bringing smiles and energy to the children for about an hour and a half, the two waved goodbye to the children and said, "We'll come again!", bringing their visit to an end.



[Shoji Watanabe, Vice Director, Saitama Children's Medical Center]
"Shusaku Nishikawa and Toshikazu Teruuchi came to the hospital and gave us a gift. I'm sure the children currently undergoing treatment were greatly encouraged by seeing the energetic athletes. On behalf of the hospital, I would like to express my deepest gratitude."

[Atsushi Takeuchi, Manager of Ronald McDonald House Saitama]
"We are all encouraged by the energy we receive from you all. I wish the best of luck to super rookie player Teruuchi and McDonald's House Saitama's guardian deity Nishikawa in their future endeavors."

[Shusaku Nishikawa]
"This was my third visit, and no matter how many times I visit, it makes me happy to see the happy faces of the children. What we can do may be small, but by visiting, it gives them an opportunity to get to know us and maybe they will want to support us. I would like to continue these kinds of activities. Teruuchi also participated today, and I would be happy if the younger players take the lead in continuing these kinds of activities."

[Toshikazu Teruuchi]
"I think exchanges like this one are very important. We are where we are today thanks to Nishikawa's many years of hard work, so I would like to continue to actively seek out ways to do things like what I did today. Talking with the children with a smile also gave me energy."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]