nonesensed | People who know stuff about Japan

My sister and I are going to Kyoto in April, mostly to visit a friend, and it's turned out that said friend might be too busy to hang out with us much. This is bad, because my sister knows no Japanese and I myself know barely any (not enough to hold actual conversations).

How well does speaking solely English work in Kyoto? I honestly have no idea. Would it work excellently, not at all or somewhere in-between? And what are must sees? Temples? Gardens? Something I haven't even thought of (very likely)?

And unlikely as it probably is, does anyone know someone who speaks English (or Swedish or German) who lives somewhere in Kyoto and who wouldn't mind hanging out with two slightly confused Swedes for a few hours? I love meeting new people and I'm very bad at the "tourist thing" - I much prefer visiting people.

I'm honestly feeling quite lost at the moment, but the hotel and plane tickets are all booked, so I can't exactly cancel the trip...