Originally Posted by
mwalsh
I'm most worried about is visiting smaller (and busy) restaurants and trying to order from menus that may only be in Japanese.
What level of English communication, if any, might I hope for from staff members in a smaller restaurant?!
You will be fine. The staff surely will know key words such as rice, soup, beef, fish, chicken, beer. They may well not speak much English at all, but that's part of the adventure. Write things down as necessary. People will be helpful to you. Have fun.