GPS or electronic translator

Will be travelling to Japan in January.

Looking for anyone with advice or anyone with experience :

1) who have used a GPS device in Japan. Do they help for independent touring?

2) used an electronic translator (Japanese & English)

Would really appreciated any suggestions or recommendations.

Are they worth using?

I have a Garmin GPSmap 60C I used without a problem in Japan using the map I had bought here: http://www.uud.info/en/. The map was not perfect for autorouting in big cities, but it worked well enough. Furthermore I have a Canon Wordtank G55(?) that I have used in Japan to type in words and show the result to somebody I wanted to communicate with. One of the problems with that is that the wordtank may suggest many different results and not all mean what you want to communicate. However, in general it worked well enough.

Could you add some more information on how you are intending to use both? GPS for car navigation or hiking, etc.?

I'm looking to buy one for use in Australia and thought it might be useful for travelling as well.

My next trip is to Japan so thought I would put the question out there for any input from those more knowledgable. I also plan to travel to other non-english speaking countries in the future where communication may not be so easy.

I will generally be travelling by foot or public transport and I have heard some areas in Japan do not have English signs. So though the GPS and translator may be helpful.

Would appreciate your thoughts.