Japan has really made it a lot easier to travel as an english speaker. The train maps are in English, most restaurants have an English menu, major street signs and maps are in English, etc, etc.
Coupled with the safety, be it from crime or bad drinking water, I'd say Japan has to be one of the easier countries to travel in. GPS on your phone and you'd have to be a total numpty to mess it up over here.
Ueno and Gina delivered today. However, the overall feel is still pretty oppressive compared to Kyoto. I think just about any major city with as big a rat race (London, New York, etc) will have a similar feel.