[filiadragongurl]

1. I don't think most Japanese have any prejudice against English or American people... The people I talked to were all quite excited to meet a foreigner, but then again I stayed mostly in the kansai region where foreigners are fewer. I did spend some time in Tokyo and I found people there are quite nice and willing to help you if you can overcome the language barrier.

2. Yes, there are likely to be signs in English and you'll likely find that the people who work in the airport can speak English too (or at least enough to get you to your flight.)

3. uh... I think the common practice is to call one, but if you go to the nearest train station, they'll be lined up waiting to take people somewhere. I never tried to flag one down, so I'm not sure...

4. I don't think people will be offended but you might say "English?" before trying to ask a question in English. If you know some Japanese though, go for it. I'm sure they'll try to help you along. Oh and you most likely won't need to know any Japanese in a shop if you're just buying something. They have the amount to pay (the number) displayed where the customer can see it when you pay.

By the way, Osaka might be more like 2 hours away from Tokyo by shinkansen... I never went straight from one to the other, so I'm not 100% sure, but I went from Maibara (in Shiga ken) to Tokyo (Shinjuku station) and it was supposed to be 3 hours, but we didn't get on an express and it took a lot longer... Anyway, the point is I guesstimated, so I could be off. I spent a lot of time in Osaka, and I thought it was a lot of fun, so give it a second thought, okay? ^_^