Stair Stepping

So here we are, 3 days later. Mom's already mad at me because of all the stairs we have to go up and down. (I think someone forgot to tell her the Japan was a little less flat than West Texas) All those "damn stairs" as she often refers to them seems to crop up just about everywhere we go.

Since the last post we've:

-walked the busiest intersection in the world (maybe),
-strolled around Tokyo's Imperial palace,
-Mom got to ride her fist bullet train (Shinkansen) with a lovely bento (box meal) and beer lunch,

Sidenote: Her visit (as we had hoped) fell right in the middle of CHERRY BLOSSOM season and they litter the countryside everywhere we go. Here in Kyoto they are almost everywhere and are really quite beautiful.

-seen a 53 foot tall Buddha housed in the world's largest wooden structure (very awesome)
-stumbled upon several temples and shrines, some famous some not so famous, that have left us both speechless
-drank some ceremonial green tea (with obligatory grossly sweet treat) in a traditional garden

Mom's ability to eat with chopsticks is getting better each day. She still wakes up well before I do each morning and reads about what we've done and what we'll do. It's neat and there's definitely stuff we wish ya'll back in the south plains could be here to see.

Today we're off to Osaka.