I went to Sendai for a little while on travel and stayed in Tokyo for the night before I left. Unfortunately I didn't see as much of the country as I wanted to. I had more free time than I expceted, so I spent a good bit of time walking around the city, which I enjoyed very much.
I speak some Japanese so getting around was OK. However, I don't speak it well and my former husband didn't speak it at all. During my visit, any of the people in the areas thag get international travelers (for tourism or business) speak some rudimentary English. Those that didn't speak English were often very gracious about trying to work around the language barriers with impromptu sign language or other gestures. There was a lady that worked at a convenience store near my hotel that spoke no English, when I went in there to get a salad for lunch, she was prepared to point to the coins that I needed in order to pay for my lunch. (When I responded to her in Japanese, she nearly shrieked...LOL). If you don't speak the language, buying one of those Berlitz phrase books can help, so you can show the proper characters if you need. I got one for my husband so he could have a little more autonomy during the trip, he said it helped, and the people that he was interacting with were very patient.
Around Sendai and Tokyo, people wore business-type clothing 7 days a week when they are out in public. The day I arrived, which was the day before my first meeting, I started wandering around Sendai in jeans and a NASA T-shirt and felt like a total dork. :lol:
) Oh I think you would want to stay in an old fashioned off the beaten path Ryokan if you get a chance. Tsukiji (fish market and yet I know I mispelled it 
) Visit the Katari Shinto Ryu Shrine, etc. Seriously there are so many, many things to do you will not have enough time.
