Date & Time: Friday, December 14, 3:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Venue: JICA Yokohama Building
Visitors: 9 JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) participants from 6 countries (2 each from Tonga, Malaysia, and Indonesia, 1 each from Samoa, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka)
Attendants: 6 KSGG members
Languages: English
It was about 5 pm when the six KSGG members started helping the nine participants put on kimono. The women were easier to deal with as there were only three of them. The hardest part was to get the obi sash on, which the more experienced KSGG members handled. It was clearly an enjoyable experience for the women who were all smiles. Getting the men dressed was an entirely different matter however on the account of their size, for whom even the largest hakama trousers and kimono were a little too small. They still looked good though, and they had fun chatting and taking pictures. A few young men were playing with Japanese swords like innocent boys. It was the last night for a Samoan lady, who spoke of the wonderful experiences she had. I hope that this occasion would be yet another experience for her to remember.