First time trip to Japan?

Question:

So I wanna go on vacation to Japan, but I'm not sure where to start. I want to go to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto definitely but don't know where would be the cheapest. Is there one place that's cheaper to fly to and another that has cheaper hotels or are they the same? Also on the hotel, I'm going to need one that is very used to people who speak no Japanese, because we don't speak any Japanese. Also probably want it Westernized, my friends and I are to used to beds rather than traditional futons. So after flight and a place to stay that isn't too expensive, we have a bunch of things we want to see. Temples and landmarks of course, and we really want to go to a festival if we can, but the biggest thing, we are pretty big otakus and would love to see all the anime, manga, etc. possible, especially all the places that sell Japan-only merchandise that cost way too much to get imported to the united states. OK so that's all I can think of for now, here are details below.

2-4 people, all adults
1 to 2 weeks stay

Answer:

You could easily just stick to Osaka and Kyoto. Osaka has an area called Denden Town (the area's actual name is Nipponbashi, Denden Town is more of a local nickname), which is sort of a miniature Akihabara. Unless you're very picky, you're sure to find whatever otaku-related stuff from there. Also, if you want to buy cheap (or cheaper at least) manga and anime, just find the closest Book Off, which sells used Japanese books, comics and DVDs at reasonable prices.

Kyoto and Nara have much more to offer on the historical side of things than Tokyo, plus you'd save quite a bit of money by not having to use the shinkansen (i.e. moving between Kansai and Tokyo/Kanto). Assuming that you'd stay in Osaka, you could take a regular train to either Nara or Kyoto and get there in about an hour.

Kyoto, having so many temples and shrines, would be the likeliest place to see a festival, however that really depends on when you're planning on going there.

If you don't speak much/any Japanese, a phrase dictionary could prove very useful. Even if you can't pronounce the Japanese phrases, you can always point at the phrase in the book to the Japanese person you are trying to talk to.