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Ok this may sound like a really stupid question but it is needed.

First off I'm going to Japan in two weeks and after two days in tokyo i'm going from the tokyo hanaeda airport to osaka itami. Now in the airport are the place names done in English or are they in the japanese form of writing be it hirigana etc.

If so what does it look like?

おさかいたみあ

Is that it or am I completely wrong? Ireally need some help on this even if it is a stupid question. You see i'll be on my own in the airport and though I know very basic japanese this one thing has been bugging me.

Also has any one got any tips or think there is anything I need to know whilst i'm at the airport?

hm i think it will be in romaji. especially cause osaka must get many foriegn english speaking passengers but if not then this should be how it would be in japanese 大阪国際空港, (Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō)

i needed to know this too, im heading out to japan in october and im scared about getting lost in the airport!

All the signs in the airport will definately have English on them somewhere (it may take a few seconds for the English to flash on marquees). They may also have Chinese and Korean on them too.

Most transports will have English also. All of the rail lines in urban areas will definately have English translations. Sub-urban areas will most likely have them also. The more rural a location becomes, the worse the translation quality will be and the less chance there will be of having an English translation.

Once, I was riding this small train that went up a mountain and the emergancy sign said something like "Pullon the cook-handle to re-lease the door willbe ready for opening". I'm not really sure what a cook-handle is...but the sign was near a bar you hold on to keep balance... I was a little nervous after reading that.

Most younger (under ~40 years old) Japanese people will know a little bit of English, probably enough to help you, especially if you use some visual guides (eg. pointing at a place on a map or whatever) or know quite a bit of Japanese yourself. Try asking if they speak English first ("Eigo wa dekimasuka?" or "Eigo wo hanasemasu ka?"), to avoid embarassment of excessive hand-signals. xD


Also, about the foreign female in Japan thing:
I'm not sure about Osaka, but in urban areas, there could be some people who are kind of like their equivalent to Japanophiles here (aka, she might have some guys hit on her or try and speak English to her randomly). Also, men on trains sometimes grope women randomly. Rarely ever leads to anything serious, but she might want to ride in the womens-only section if there is one in the evenings.