Funny thing, by the time I actually got around to taking some intensive Japanese classes, all of that stuff I'd wanted to read had been licensed. Now, most of it is available at my local Barnes and Noble. Who would have thought…

Now I'm learning Japanese because there are these other, harder, more obscure things I want to read/watch. There's no market for them and no way they're ever getting translated… (What?)

DUDE you should totally do that comedy-thing
I have watched all your video's they are awasome funny and all so treu<3
thats the power of a comedian ;3
good luck.

and there is a lot to learn at the speed I am going I will probably sound like a todler in a few decades

However, whilst the Sega, Nintendo and Sony influence has always been there, it was probably a fascination with Japanese toys that sowed the seed of wanting to learn the language. Sure, I watched some anime, loved Gojira – heck, I even build Gunpla now and again and I'm in my 30s but a real desire didn't germinate properly until about eighteen months ago when I became quite interested in the woodblock artists Hiroshige, Hokusai and others of the same period. I found the simplicity quite beautiful compared to Western art of a similar timeframe.

This appreciation also quickly transferred into the architecture and other aspects of Japan and Japanese life. I liked the old co-existing quite happily with the ultra new. One of my favourite websites for vicariously “living” the modern Japanese experience is dannychoo.com. He deals with your standard otaku stuff but also provides very informative and detailed articles on what life is actually like for him in Japan. Occasionally, Mr. Choo offers up a motivational piece and it was one such blog entry which asserted “What's stopping you learning Japanese?” that I could only truthfully answer with “nothing”.

The supposed “impenetrability”, the obvious “difficulty” and the sheer “alien” nature of the Japanese language to a native English speaker were all excuses I had used in the past, even though a nagging yearning to at least be able to decipher some of those “funny” symbols remained.

So about six months ago, I started to learn with the ultimate goal to see Mount Fuji, Sakurajima and the Inland Sea in the flesh at some point in my life and actually feel confident enough with the language so I could appreciate the surroundings rather than worry about navigating myself round the country. Whilst many people do this, and I'm sure the Japanese would be very helpful to a wandering foreigner, the thought of not having a clue fills me with a bit of dread!

I don't have much time to study and I'm doing it by myself but even though complex Japanese sentences are a bit of mystery to even look at , as long as I had three trusty books that I've been using as study aids with me, that apprehension would be greatly diminished. Given ten minutes or so, I can work out things to a standard that is acceptable to me at this point. My learning isn't really structured – particularly when It comes to Kanji, I tend to learn about the symbols that interest me rather than ploughing through the JLPT lists for example but often this overlaps. Making sense of Japanese place names is my favourite approach at present – I find it curiously satisfying!

However, I stumbled upon this page after a search for particle help and finding the handy chart!

Anyway, that's my story. Apologies for the length.

In fourth grade we had a Japan Festival at school and I loved that too. First time I had kamaboko and I couldn't get enough!

Now I'm quite grown up, bordering on old, lol. I love Japanese food, and have learned to cook some. I make a good miso soup with fresh dashi.

Also I have gotten into the hobby of Nishikigoi and some day would like to go to Japan to visit some Koi breeders. It would be nice to be able to talk to them with out sounding like an idiot. Plus I could then tell if my guide is really telling me what the breeder is saying. heh.

Learning a new language is great for keeping the mind sharp and I also like the way Japanese sounds. I've been doing IKnow online now for a while, and plan to take a course at the local junior college this summer.

I do like some anime too, I really like stuff from CLAMP. Most is more entertaining than what's on my local TV. Plus I like the original voice actors, they seem to be better actors.
Why is it when an anime is dubbed into English they pick voice actors who sound like surfer dudes on Valium? lol.

Anyway those are some of my reasons. Mostly because I want to visit Japan someday soon.

i don't remember why i started to learn japanese. i know only one thing, i really hate manga and anime, because of their retarted reality. i like to watch japanese doramas. i think its one of the best way to see how japanese society is built. now, when i asking myself why i'm learning japanese i often understanding that the main reason are japanese people, their inner world, thoughts. sounds maybe a kinda stupid, but its true.
/sorry for my english ;(