You'll face no less issues in Tokyo. Even in Shinjuku station (one of the main station), I have encountered station masters who could not speak English hahaha. But they're still very helpful.

Guides are expensive but if its not an issue for you then it's fine. Otherwise few things you can do is - use translator (Google translate), body language and learn few basic Japanese words. The experience will be enriching.

Most of the tourist spot, you might be able to find people that can speak English or maybe Chinese. Since Hokkaido is so big where in particular are you going to?

Have you bought your ticket? If not why not fly to Tokyo/Osaka and then return from Osaka/Tokyo. Make no sense to make a u-turn back to Tokyo again.  Also if you arrived in Narita, it takes about an hour or two to reach downtown depending on the transportation mode you take. Settle down a bit and its time to shop. So I dont really understand what your friend says about nothing much to do.

this is bad...u will b really wasting a lot of money...is this ur first time to japan? if yes i suggest just stay in tokyo and plan all those one day side trip instead of travelling all the way to kansai area and back again

shinkansen from tokyo to osaka take about 3hours+ one way, return will take u about 1 day d and not to mention its not cheap. since its ur first time, just try to finish tokyo area first and dun rush thing. there r tons of stuff to do n places to visit. i live in tokyo a year also havent finish everything yet.

15 days i would consider tokyo and hokkaido only...

take a domestic flight from narita to sappporo CTS

nono, i suggest use 15 days time to finish tokyo area and leave kansai area to next time. disney sea is fun if ur wife like theme park, u can also go hakone, nikko and so on as one day trip which hv nice scenary

if you are not planning to visit japan the second time (which most of us love to visit 2nd time and more)...then what to do, visit both kanto and kansai area in one trip

hmm...did u try explain to ur wife there r tons of things to do around tokyo? also may i ask did ur colleagues told u tht there is nothing much in tokyo?

osaka, kyoto, kobe in 1 week time is ok. but kansai area and tokyo in 1 week time is definitely a nono unless u dun mind skipping tons of stuff and rush ur trip

ic, but do prepare to spend extra RM2k for two just to travel to osaka and bak to tokyo. well of coz there wont b much to do around airport area. anyway, mayb u should try check with ur airline how much extra will it be to change ur arrival to kansai (KIX) instead of Narita, tokyo. if its cheaper than the one way tickets to osaka from tokyo, then just change it.
assuming u follow my super rush two days kyoto itinerary on the 1st page, then USJ 1 day, u r left with two days in osaka, so u wont hv time for kobe d.

Dont understand the logic about Narita and Haneda. Both are in Tokyo and the difference are just the time/distance to the center. You are not going to spend your day in Haneda or NArita once you land right?

yea but usually no one hang around Haneda or Narita airport. people usually just take express train to shibuya, shinjuku, and so on. so nothing much around there doesnt really have anything to do with Tokyo lol. should really try pursue ur wife to just stay in tokyo tho due to ur air tickets.

I was in Tokyo 2nd week of March back in 2016. Some trees have sprout a little.
You may get to see some sakura, but not likely to be full of flowers better than nothing right.
Yeah you can do Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo with 7 days in kansai region and balance another week in Tokyo.

2 days @ USJ
2 days @ Osaka city
2 days @ Kyoto
1 day trip to Nara
1 day travelling (from Tokyo/ to Tokyo)

In Tokyo, you can spend the balance 6 days there till your flight back home.

All you need to additionally spend is your return shinkansen ticket. Seems like both of you can afford the shinkansen and that's what the wife wants - just go for it.  If she likes to shop, Tokyo will be really fun for her.
You're going USJ x 1 day? Only left with 5 days ya.

2 days Osaka, 2 days Kyoto and 1 day Kobe ah. Kobe is about 30min from Osaka by train, so you can do a day trip there. If you didn't want to spend 2 days in Kyoto (it's mostly temples), you can also do a day trip to Nara, which is 1hr away from Osaka by train many flexi.
Yeah I was wondering the same thing too. A little confused over that part.
Hi sacwoc Hong Kong super hot wei

your colleague kinda funny...

Got Hokuriku from airport-to-airport: http://hokuriku-arch-pass.com/en/
24,000yen

If it's the normal shinkansen pass, eg from Kyoto-Tokyo will cost ard 14,000yen one way.
https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/charge/index.html

make kyoto 3 days instead and kobe make it a one day trip. 2 days will b too rush for kyoto especially when ur wife wan to relax n enjoy the scenery. 4 days in osaka is ok coz u r going to USJ 1 day, meaning u left 3 days, else u can make another 1 day trip to maybe Nara? its nice to c deer walking around on the street

does ur wife wan to go disney sea?

not possible, one day might not even finish all the rides in sea. if u been to other disneyland then u can just skip it and go to disney sea enough