definitely no, but still not as bad as korea.
station masters and some post office staffs in tokyo are somewhat
well-trained in english, but anything else, u might just want to
point to the menu. trust me, even if u dunno how to order in jap,
it does get easier after a few days, at least in tokyo.
when u buy stuffs from the convenience shop, they will always
without fail ask something which u might not understand. that line
is, "do you need a plastic bag?". so if u dun need (e.g. buying a
drink), just say "iie, arigato gozaimasu" with a appropriate hand
sign to match. u are expected to put the money onto the basket with
scrubs. they will also return any change into that basket
usually.
note the basket to the left of the cashier.
some cashiers at bigger outlets like HMV or supermarkets also
feature a changing machine. for example, ur stuff costs ¥190 and u
give the cashier a ¥1,000 note (it's like $10), the cashier after
scanning the stuffs will proceed to insert ur note into the left
slot in the machine below and it will spit out ¥810 in coins in the
cup which he/she will return it to the basket with ur
receipt.
in japan u are expected to drink or eat while standing on the spot
or sitting. they dun have the habit of drinking and walking, and
some may actually detest such behaviours. for the same reason,
rubbish bins are always found next to vending machines, and u're
expected to buy, drink it there and then dispose of the empty can
in there. some vending machines have a side bin which will offer to
return u ¥10 for returning an empty paper cup.
if u choose to drink and walk, u will realise u can't easily find
rubbish bins elsewhere (one tip is to find a vending machine with a
bin 
), and u could end up holding to ur
empty bottle for very long without a rubbish bin in sight.
