Oh it is assuredly not the best hotel in Kyoto, or even the nicest staff. Still, I don't doubt the service was so much better than they've experienced everywher

Oh it is assuredly not the best hotel in Kyoto, or even the nicest staff. Still, I don't doubt the service was so much better than they've experienced everywhere else in the world that they statistically just assumed it must also be exceptional by Japanese standards as well. As an interesting aside, I met a few western youngsters working in the hotel industry in Japan and they were very nice and their Japanese was very good, but they said they constantly seemed to not meet the standards their managers expected of them. The quality of service you can get at the average 7-11 there feels almost comparable to dining at a five star restaurant in NYC, and going to an average quality hotel can feel like you're a guest at the Ritz Carlton. It's because Japanese have no shame in providing excellent service to others. I feel in the US it is considered as if one is admitting they are beneath another if they provide that kind of service, maybe that's why we have a tipping culture as well, to assuage the feeling of shame that comes with service in the US. A pity the nation has a culture like that, being of service to others is something that should be considered noble and aspirational.