I did a stop over in Tokyo/NRT in 2008 and found a lot of English speakers at the airport and all around the city. I took the Airport Limousine bus from the airport to my hotel, Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo, and back to NRT.
The subway was easy to use and I went all around the city. The key for me was pre-planning.
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus...s/narita/index
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/