Language and holiday in japan, advice?

Ok...So i would really like to go on holiday to japan(preferably at the end of this year, although nothing has really been planned yet, so the planning starts here), but im concerned about learning the language and getting by in japan, for maybe a 10day holiday?
Anyways, i figure that its very useful to learn some japanese and probably best not to just count on everybody else knowing a bit of english, so...
I've thought about finding a teacher to teach me japanese, but its obviously going to be an expensive option and im not even sure if theres a japanese teacher local enough to me to go to, so i thought about buying one of those CD/book sets that teaches you some basic japanese.
Can anyone recommend any good CD/book sets for learning japanese and what are you opinions on them in general? What are the most important things to learn for going to japan on a 10day holiday and are there any manners/customs that are exclusive to japan that i am advised to learn as so not to accidently offend anyone while im there?
Thanks for your time and any advice/info is much appreiciated .

Cramming to learn Japanese on such a short time period isn't really going to do you much good. Frankly, you really don't need it. You can navigate around Japan pretty good without knowing the language and there are enough Japanese who know English well enough here and there to help you out. I've never had any difficulty with the language differences while there.

You may want to bring along a Japanese phrase book just in case you need it (I never did), but definitely bring along some good maps (especially for Tokyo).

Learn some basics and you should be ok. If you're in a rural area it may be a bit more difficult, but in cities you should be fine.

Im thinking of going to Kyoto, but i really havn't decided where to go exactly in Kyoto yet- i would love to visit some market places to do some shopping and see some temples- where would be a reasonably good tourist-friendly place in kyoto to do this can anyone advise?

for basic knowledge I recommend "Talk now Japanese". It's a computer game witch teaches some basic phrases and stuff.

Tokis-Phoenix said:

Im thinking of going to Kyoto, but i really havn't decided where to go exactly in Kyoto yet- i would love to visit some market places to do some shopping and see some temples- where would be a reasonably good tourist-friendly place in kyoto to do this can anyone advise?

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All of Kyoto is very tourist-friendly. We spent about 3 days there in 2004 and enjoyed it (despite the summer heat and humidity).

The must-sees are Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion, Kyomizu Temple (there's a lot of great shops leading up to the temple) and many others. I enjoyed walking the backstreets and visiting a lot of the shops off the beaten track.

Thanks for all the advice/suggestions everyone, its really helpful !