Japan suggestions

We are headed to Japan for 2 weeks in early March. Work requires a week in Tokyo and we are thinking of using Kyoto as a base for the second week. Your suggestions re places to go, things to do, foods to try would be great. I am wondering if anyone has spent a week trying to get a handle on traveler Japanese and found it helpful. Thank you !

Spent three years living in Japan, when I was a teenager, too long ago for recs on where to stay etc. But I found the most important Japanese phrases I learned to use in the Japanese language were some of the following... were is the restroom, how much is this, what is this, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good bye, thanks you very much, your are welcome, yes, no, hello and others similar. Unfortunately our American accents get in the way of proper Japanese enunciation. All the Japanese I learned was taught to me by Japanese teenagers. This was just enough to get me around.

Japan is a food lover's paradise if you like Asian/ethnic food!  Not just for sushi but for all kinds of Japanese cooked dishes, izakaya, ramen, BBQ, etc.  Use this website to look for restaurants.... www.tabelog.com   It's really hard to get a bad meal in restaurants since there is such a focus on craft.

Plus the exchange rate makes Tokyo dining (including Michelin star places) so much cheaper compared to NYC.  Everything is lterally 30% cheaper today than even 3 years ago.  Scotch is about 40-50% cheaper than what you get in the NY area.