Terrific report as always.
We were just in Japan in March and one of our guides said he'd rather not guide during the Sakura as it is too crowded.
After our dinner at Dons de la Nature, the chef/owner helped make sure we got into the proper uber. Such nice assistance.
And yes, I think Japan is super-clean. We barely saw a trash can and people just took their own garbage until they found a trash can. If only people were half that tidy here in USA.