Great, sounds like you have it all under control. Enjoy!
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I think Kyoto has even more than the usual number of English language signs, did even 25 years ago.
-Al
Agree with that. Tokyo was much more intimidating for us than Kyoto as first-timers (in 2019). There are English signs in the subways, but not everywhere. Our biggest issue was street addresses. Buildings arenāt numbered in any way I could comprehend, and few business signs have English. Printing out addresses to show to cab drivers, and finding images of the buildings where restaurants are located was key for us.
Fwiw, Iāve been told that buildings are numbered in the order they were built, but I donāt know if that is always or even sometimes true. Mapping out a route beforehand using street view and having a screenshot of the name or, better yet, sign, in kanji helps a lot.
I second Nikko though I was there during Autumn season myself. Loved it and if you are there then you must give their soba a try.
Osaka - havenāt been there but everyone I met from there has been relatively outgoing. all my Japanese friends/colleagues have praised the food - want to and would love to go there!
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Yes, having GPS will make things much easier getting around Tokyo.
My strategy 25 years ago (no smart phones, no nav in English) was to just take a subway to the nearest station and take a taxi the rest of the way even if it was two blocks.
I would always have something in writing from the concierge to give the driver, as well as the hotel card.
Building number seem random to my untrained eye. Even the Japanese have problems. On each block there should be maps every few dozen meters or so with a map of where buildings are, unfortunately in Japanese. Google translate on your phone should help.
Is three nights (arriving early the first day) enough to see Kanazawa? I had pencilled in 4 but availability elsewhere has me thinking of cutting a day.
Nara looks great as a day trip from Kyoto.
Fukuoka looks interesting but a little more travel time so might finish in Osaka so I can quickly train back to Narita.
I think itās plenty. We loved Kanazawa, but itās a relatively compact city. The gardens and castle are lovely to walk around. Take any nodoguro that anyone is willing to feed you. And some fun, interesting bars. We quite enjoyed Jazz Spot Bokunen and Bar Spoon.