Japan is very Japanese

We arrived in Japan on Friday, January 29, and took the train from the airport in Tokyo to Kyoto. As stupid as this sounds, as we looked out the window of the train from Narita Airport to the Shinagawa station in Tokyo, where we transferred to the bullet train to Kyoto, we passed villages and couldn't get over how typically Japanese they looked. It's kind of like landing in London and discovering that everyone speaks with a British accent. They aren't just putting it on.

Not that this picture was taken from the train window. It's a view of Kyoto from the Philosopher's Path, where we were taken by a charming volunteer student guide, Fukuda Mutumi (who is now a FB friend of mine).
Here's a picture of Judith with Mutumi:

Judith found out about a group of student volunteers in Kyoto (the Good Samaritan Club) who take tourists around for free (we treated them to transportation, museum entrances, and a lunch), giving visitors a chance to meet young Japanese people, and giving them a chance to use their English.
I started off in Japan wearing a very old trench coat, which I planned to replace with a lightweight Uniqlo coat like Judith's.

I did manage to buy a new coat and discarded this old heavy thing with a light heart.
We were as much interested in the stores and stands that lined the path up to the temples as we were in the temples themselves, because they were so lively. We weren't attracted to the Japanese sweets, but Judith couldn't resist this fried potato swirl:

Kyoto is on a human scale, a good place to start taking Japan in. Because we don't know the language and can't read the signs, we were fortunate in having the students to help us figure things out. While lots of what you see in the street is totally 21st century urban, some things are mystifying to a foreigner.