Good Morning Tokyo!

No really, GOOD MORNING. It's 5am. Yes, 5am and for the past four days, today I would consider this sleeping in. Yesterday I was up at 4:30am. So needless to say I have some time to kill this morning.

Japan is amazing. The culture is like nothing I've ever seen. Everything is so clean, orderly and utterly polite. There are no homeless people, no litter and the honor system is so entangled in their beliefs that I could leave my purse out on a busy street corner and I am convinced it would sit until I came pack to retrieve it. We've been doing some amazing sightseeing, enjoying our fair share of sushi and of course, practicing our near fluent Japanese. (Imagine Kerry in a kimono, pretending to be a samurai - more on that later).

We have so many stories to tell and experiences to share, I am a little overwhelmed on where to begin. On Saturday we traveled to Kyoto Japan, a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. This area is famous for it's Geisha culture, quaint lantern lit streets and of course, miles of Cherry Blossoms. I decided to book a traditional Ryokan for us to stay in. This type of inn is very traditional and typically booked by Japanese businessmen. You are greeted by the innkeepers wife (clad in kimono), and your room consists of Tatani mats covering the floor, a very low table and of course your very own kimono robe. At nighttime, the kimono clad wife prepares your bed - a very thin cushion placed in the middle of the room. In the morning, she promptly arrives at 7:30 to remove your bedding and serve you breakfast, while you sit on the floor and drink green tea.

Just before it was time for us to receive our breakfast, Kerry found his "big man" (yes, this is what she called it) kimono, he decided that instead of an American businessman, he was a Samurai warrior. He moved around the room like a highly-skilled warrior, dutifully protecting his love, while killing all who try to step foot on his ancient land. Don't worry, I have pics. In addition to his newly found samurai skills, he has become fluent in Japanese. For those who may not remember our last adventure, we spent 8 (or was it 9?) weeks trekking through Europe and a bit of Africa. Throughout our journey, Kerry successfully became fluent in each country. He's pretty amazing. (Fluent = him making up words that sound like the language and using it everywhere he went)

So, everytime I ask Kerry a question instead of getting a "yes" or a head nod, I get a "Hi-e!!!!!" which is how the Japanese exuberantly say yes.

"Kerry is this our train stop?" asks Megan politely.

"Hi-e!!!!", Kerry answers at the top of his lungs in his super samurai voice, waving his invisible sword. You get the picture.

More to come later...