AKADAMA JAPAN

All the major cities have signs in English,Chinese or Korean at Japanese train stations. Even in some local stations, they have signs in those languages these days.Automatic train announcements and ticket-vending machines are also translated in to English,Chinese or Korean in many cities.
There have been increasing staff who speak English,Chinese or other languages at department sores and drug stores in some cities to improve the services for visitors from abroad.On the other hand, as Wan-kun says " I assume that many Japanese taxi-drivers don't understand a foreign language".So, I want to suggest how to use a taxi in Japan.
1)Write your destination（roman letters are OK) on a piece of paper or print a map and give it your taxi driver. Or point it out on a web map.Most of taxies in Japan have car navigation systems, so giving your driver the address is much better!
2)When you want to go back to the hotel where you stay, showing the hotel's card is an easy way. So, remember to keep the card.
By the way,you always get in to the rear seat in a taxi, 
Japanese taxi's left rear door opens and closes automatically. 
You are not supposed to open or close the door by yourself.
If you have a lot of luggage, the driver will help you put your luggage in the trunk.This doesn't cost an extra fee, of course. It's just a service. Taxi drivers in Japan are mostly friendly, even if they don't understand your language. 
And all Japanese taxis have fare meters, so the drivers never rip you off !You don't need to tip to your driver either. It's not the culture in Japan.They are generally highly trustworthy!