it's a very easy country to live in even if you don't speak a word of Japanese when you go out there.
How so?
Do most people speak English?
Everyone in Japan studies English from an early age, so that means that everyone knows about 3 basic phrases. Generally they can read and write English fairly well, and any university students have to pass an English assessment before they get a place. So, it's not that the people speak good English that makes it an easy country to get around. There are other reasons for that.
For one, all the road signs are in Japanese and English. As are signs at train stations. This makes getting around very easy. Sometimes the ticket machines are in both English and Japanese, in fact most are. Even the town I lived in which had a population of about 12,000 and was in the Japanese equivalent of Norfolk, had all the signs and ticket machines in English as well as Japanese. If you're driving in Japan, well that's a breeze too as their cars are right-hand drive and they drive on the left like us.
Then there's the restaurants. A lot of the time they have pictures of the food on the menu, rather than just text. So you can point and order. Some places have 'mihon' - which are plastic models of the food. These are placed in the window, or in the kaitenzushi (the sushi joints with the revolving conveyor belt that Yo Sushi has mimicked) these are placed on the conveyor belt with what the food is written next to it. Of course, this is often in Japanese but it can help. Others have the menu in English as well as Japanese anyway, especially in Tokyo.
At the bigger hotels and restaurants you'll find the staff have a decent level of English, and if not they'll find someone who does.
I was there over 10 years ago, so it's probably changed lots since then. But when I was there it was a very safe country. Never felt threatened or unsafe walking the streets late at night, even in the middle of Tokyo. People are generally very friendly to 'gaijin' and if you're over there teaching English you are respected (just like teachers over here).
Then there's the network of ex-pats and fellow foreign teachers who you can use to help you out when you're stuck.
Japanese isn't actually a difficult language to learn the basics. The basic grammar is very regular (on the whole), and learning basic phrases to help you get around is easy. Of course, learning the written side of it takes a bit longer and is slightly more complex than remembering how to order a beer and asking where the loo is.
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