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I'm planning to go to Tohoku for at least a week, and Lonely Planet,
[Wikitravel](http://wikitravel.org/en/Tohoku#Talk) and
[TVTropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TohokuRegionalAccent)
all mention that Tohoku-ben is a bit different from how Tokyoites would speak.
TVTropes also mention that not all Tohoku residents speak in the same way,
either - not relevant to this question, but I don't want to misinform anyone.

What advantages and disadvantages are there in speaking in the local dialect
(ie their vocabulary and grammar) and/or accent (ie how they pronounce words)?

Disadvantages:

  1. If I'm seen as deliberately doing an "zuuzuu-ben" accent, will people think I'm making fun of it? TVTropes mentions that that accent has been made fun of in fiction. It's possible I'll accidentally pick up a Tohoku accent during my stay, but then it'll be the real thing, rather than an exaggeration of it.
  2. I'm more likely to get something new wrong rather than something I've practiced for a while.
  3. A foreigner speaking a local dialect or accent may be seen as a bit silly.

Advantages:

  1. Speaking with a local accent would probably make it easier to understand when other people speak with that accent. For example, if I have previously said "itsu" with a Tohoku accent, then I'll be more likely to understand when someone else says ["itsu" with a Tohoku accent](http://amyamiller.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html). 
  2. Speaking in the local dialect or accent may give the impression the speaker is putting more of an effort into what they're saying, which is seen as respectful.
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dialects spoken-language
Should I speak in the local dialect and/or accent of an area?
I live in Kansai area and speak Kansai-ben, and would not try to speak in
Tohoku accent if I ever stayed in Tohoku for weeks/months, nor would I expect
anyone from Tokyo to speak in Kansai accent when he/she is staying in Kansai
for weeks/months.
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I agree with Chocolate: it is not expected, regardless of whether the traveler
is a native speaker of Japanese or not. And as a result of doing something
unexpected, some people may interpret it as making fun of the local accent,
because it seems to be the most plausible explanation why anyone from another
area would imitate (probably very poorly) the local accent.

If other people know that you are trying to speak in the local accent in a
sincere attempt to communicate better with locals, then the situation might be
different. But you cannot keep explaining it to everyone you talk to.
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2012-01-04T13:59:35.977
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I feel that speaking a foreign language in an accent other than the 'standard'
one is kind of like playing the violin: it sounds really awful from a
beginner, but from someone skilled it can sound very nice.

I myself lived for two years in the Kanto area and learned to speak 'standard'
Japanese. After that I spent a year in Kyoto and though I learned to
understand the Kansai dialect in general and more specifically the Kyoto
dialect too, I didn't try and speak it myself. My wife (also from the Kansai
area) laughs at me the few times that a Kansa-ben pronunciation has come out
of my mouth. She said it sounds forced and unnatural.

On the other hand, one of my friends is American and lived in the Kansai area
for over 4 years, and he only speaks Kansai-ben. Coming from him it sounds
very natural, and so he is never made fun of for speaking it, but instead is
usually complimented on it!

So my take away message is that if you're going to be living there for a long
time, there's no reason why you shouldn't learn to speak in the local dialect.
But if you're only going to be there a few weeks/months, it's probably better
to stick to standard Tokyo-ben.
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In Okinawa, I got into a cab and asked in Japanese to go my destination. In
Tokyo, the taxi driver might comment favourably that I can speak Japanese. In
Okinawa, the taxi driver was impressed that I could speak _standard_ Japanese
(標準語). I realized then that I spoke Japanese with a Tokyo accent.

If you going to a different area for a short time I see no benefit. If you
were going to become part of a family and stay for a long time, I say would
there is a benefit.

The exception would be if you were one of those people who have totally
mastered standard Japanese and have a natural gift for dialects and
effortlessly could pull it off.
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I think the answer depends on how much you know about the dialect, which in
this case doesn't seem to be that much. The term _dialect_ refers to a much
more complicated system than just the zuuzuu phenomenon, so even if you
changed your pronunciation, unless everything else is dialectally accurate,
then you are uttering an incorrect sentence. And that's IF you actually do
control your accent well enough to do so. For instance, pitch is also going to
be different, so unless you control pitch in Standard Japanese...

Learning a dialect is a worthy cause, but not in a week, or for a week.
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