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Naruto Gaiden: Nanadaime Hokage to Akairo no Hanatsuzuki
Jul 2, 2015 10:09 AM
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We mostly stayed at youth hostels, since they're cheap (~$40 USD per night, per person), they usually have English-speaking staff, and you can meet a lot of other young people from around the world. You don't have to worry about cleanliness and safety at all, since it's Japan.
Traveling between cities or within cities? For between cities, it depends on where you want to go. You're probably familiar with the shinkansen, which is the fastest way to travel long distances besides flying. Unfortunately, it's also really expensive. The quickest train from Tokyo to Kyoto takes 140 minutes and costs around 13000 JPY (~$128 USD). If money isn't your concern, then by all means take the shinkansen. However, if you want to minimize transportation costs, you can take overnight sleeper buses operated by an English-friendly travel company, Willer Express. Depending on the type of seat, time of day, and day of the week, a trip from Tokyo to Osaka should take around 8 hours and cost around $50 USD. If you get one of the decent seats, the trip is actually quite comfortable.
Within cities, you have a choice between metro, trains, and buses. Most of the large cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto) have a metro system of varying degrees of convenience. For example, the Tokyo metro is extremely extensive and you can get pretty much wherever you want without having to walk very much. Travel is very fast within the central wards of Tokyo, although you might have some trouble deciphering the clusterfuck of a metro map initially. Fortunately, points of interest are labeled by exit number (for example, take exit 2B if you want to go to _____) and all maps and signs are in both Japanese and English. On the other hand, the Kyoto metro only has two lines (north-south and east-west), so you might have to take an alternative method of travel to get to some tourist sites. Also, there's no English in the Kyoto metro.
Trains are similar to metros in that they have varying degrees of convenience, but they're generally less extensive. We mostly only used trains to travel short distances between cities (ie. Kyoto-Osaka, a 30 minute ride). They also operate within cities, but the metro tends to be a better option.
I don't have much experience with buses since you basically don't need them unless you want to get to the less touristy areas or very specific places.
As for the prevalence of English and English speakers, I'm sorry to tell you that it is quite difficult to navigate around Japan if you don't know any Japanese. It's a little easier in Tokyo and you'll find people who can at least somewhat understand you, but you'll save yourself A LOT of trouble if you pick up basic conversational Japanese before you go. Reading signs and deciphering addresses is another challenge for a non-Japanese speaker. The Japanese don't use the street system like most other countries. You can read more about it on the wikipedia article here. Honestly, your best bet would be to go with a Japanese person or someone who can speak Japanese fluently.
If you ever plan on going, I could tell you the places worth visiting.