Learn Japanese... then go to Japan and show off... which culturally is somewhat inappropriate.

In my early college years I was a Japanese student. After three classes I was beginning to get pretty good. I was able to hold small conversations, and for the most part... I was understood by others. However, at the beginning I did sound like the man looking for his Japanese class in episode 1 of Irasshai. To many people starting to learn a new language could be daunting. If you find yourself to be one of those people... Irasshai is a great primer.

Irasshai looks a little dated these days but the instruction is still valuable. Contrasting French to Japanese, I personally found Japanese a little harder to catch on to. There is a flow, and tone that is hard to pick up on at first. Irasshai begins to drill the nasal tone and the flow between crisp and elongated enunciation from the very beginning. For anyone that would be curious about the Japanese language these are good principals to learn early on. Irasshai sets a good foundation so that you can confidently begin to speak and enjoy the language.

If you ever found yourself curious about learning another language start here. It's free, it's always there, and it will help get you ready for your eventual trip to Nihon.