First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to a Buddhist Temple in Kyoto is costing taxpayers nearly $80,000 for rental cars, according to a government contract.
Mrs. Obama, who is travelling to Japan and Cambodia for a girls’ education initiative, will arrive in Kyoto, Japan, on Friday.
According to the White House press office, "The First Lady will travel to Kyoto on March 20 and visit the Kiyomizu-Dera Buddhist Temple and the Fushimi Inari Shinto Shrine. She will also greet staff from the U.S. Consulate in Osaka."
Fushimi Inari Shinto is a shrine dedicated to a god of rice. Visitors of the temple can pay to go into a pitch-black basement that symbolizes the womb of Buddah’s mother.
The temple also features the Otowa Waterfall, which has streams to cause "longevity, success at school, and a fortunate love life."
The cost for "Rental Vehicles for Flotus in Kyoto" is $78,741, according to a contract signed last week.
Mrs. Obama is promoting "Let Girls Learn," an initiative by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that is spending $231.6 million for education programs in Nigeria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Jordan, and Guatemala.