Journey to Japanese: Learning the Language in Six Months
Okay, so today’s topic is all about how I’m learning Japanese in six months before my trip to Japan.
Four months from now, I’ll be boarding a plane for my first ever trip to Japan. Two months ago, I finally pulled the trigger on something I’ve been dreaming about for years: a three-week solo trip across the country. It’s something that always lingered in the back of my mind, and this year, I just decided—why not?
And then I figured… I have 6 months.. why not try to learn a bit of the language before going there? So for over two months I have been studying Japanese for over 1 hour per day - without skipping a single day (Despite work, university, gym and travel), So here’s what I did / am doing.
From 0 to しょしんしゃ (Beginner)
I dove in headfirst. Honestly, learning Japanese was a bit of a spontaneous decision. I’ve always thought it sounded cool and unique—kind of intriguing in a way I couldn't quite explain. I had however never seriously considered learning it until suddenly… I did. One moment I was just browsing around, and the next thing I knew, I was knee-deep in grammar guides and alphabet charts.
Before I start anything new, I like to understand the theory behind it. I’m the kind of person who tends to over-research (read: overthink) before even taking the first step. It’s a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it helps me avoid mistakes; other times, I get caught in analysis paralysis. But with Japanese, I spent a few focused hours figuring out the lay of the land, and then I was ready to go.
Hiragana, Katakana… and the Beast That Is Kanji
I quickly learned that Japanese doesn’t just have just one alphabet like we do—it has three separate writing systems!
Hiragana: the main phonetic system, with 46 basic characters. These are all the “natural” Japanese sounds, like あ、い、う、え、お, which represent a i u e o respectively.
Katakana: used for loan words and foreign names. Same number of sounds, completely different characters. Think of this like the weird cousin of hiragana.
Kanji: now, kanji is a beast. These are Chinese characters adapted into Japanese. There are thousands of them, but about 2,000 are considered essential for literacy.
Motivated and probably a little overconfident, I blitzed through all 46 hiragana characters in a single day. The next day, I did the same with katakana. I used some great online tools to drill them into memory, and it felt surprisingly doable.
But then came kanji.
Kanji was intimidating. It’s not just that there are so many of them (though, yeah, 2,000 is a lot).
It’s that each kanji has multiple readings and meanings!
Sometimes two. Sometimes six. And kanji aren’t even full words—they’re just pieces of words. The idea that I’d have to learn the shape, the meaning, and at least two readings for each character? Honestly, I had a moment of existential crisis. But I kept going.
Enter: WaniKani and Anki (aka My Brain’s New Best Friends)
To tackle kanji, I found a tool called WaniKani, which uses spaced repetition and mnemonics to teach the most common kanji and the words built from them. It’s actually fun. Like dangerously fun if you’re a learning nerd like me.
Since I started about 70 days ago, I’ve learned around 370 kanji and over 800 words just from WaniKani alone. Around day 40, I added Anki into the mix—a customizable flashcard app that’s popular in the language-learning world. I’ve been adding 15 new words per day, and combining what I’ve learned from both systems (with some overlap), I now know over 1,200 unique words.
But Words Aren’t Everything
Of course, words alone aren’t enough to understand a language. You also need grammar—and Japanese grammar is a whole different game.
To keep things balanced, I’ve been mixing in some grammar studies alongside vocab. Two of my favorite resources so far are:
Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide: concise, no-BS explanations.
Cure Dolly on YouTube: weird but incredibly intuitive once you get past the synthetic voice. The explanations just click in a way that’s hard to explain.
The way I see it: learning grammar gives you a skeleton. Vocabulary is the muscle. And immersion? That’s the soul.
The Immersion Phase (aka: The Fun Part That Hurts a Little)
When it comes to language learning, the thing called Immersion is probably the single most effective tool.
Immersion is basically exposing yourself to as much real Japanese as possible—listening, reading, watching. If you think about it, it’s how we all learned our native language. The theory makes perfect sense.
But here’s the catch: immersion kinda sucks when you don’t know any words yet. You sit there, and nothing makes sense. It’s like listening to TV static with subtitles.
Still, I pushed through with very easy content, and lately, I’ve started rewatching shows I already know (in English) but now in Japanese, with Japanese subtitles. Having context helps a ton, however it is still very hard to understand most sentences. There are moments from week to week though where I can definitely notice progress, and every day there are new words/phrases I recognize.
It’s still frustrating. I still don’t understand most of what I hear. But it’s less incomprehensible than it was a month ago. And that’s progress.
Trusting the Process (Even When It Feels Like Nothing’s Working)
Here’s the deal: learning Japanese is hard. It just is. The first few weeks are especially rough because I was studying daily but could barely understand anything. It’s incredibly easy to get discouraged.
But here’s what’s kept me going: trusting the process.
Language learning is like fitness. You won’t see abs after two weeks, but that doesn’t mean your workouts aren’t doing anything. Every day compounds. And slowly but surely, what once felt impossible starts to feel… doable.
There is an important saying in the Japanese language learning community, which goes “tolerate ambiguity”. Basically, you will inevitably spend large periods of time barely understanding anything. During this time it is important to not get discouraged, but just trust the process and push through. Because even if it feels like you are not making progress, you are.
So where am I now? About two and a half months in, and I’ve got almost four months left. I’m definitely not aiming for fluency, but I think I can reach a level where I can:
Read menus, signs, and basic web content
Follow casual conversations (with some effort)
Have simple chats with locals
Enjoy Japanese media on a basic level without subtitles
Also, even though I have set this medium-term goal for myself, language learning isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. And learning Japanese is something I can definitely see myself doing for an indefinite amount of time. It is nice to have a goal in sight, however the journey only starts then.
Final Thoughts
If you’re reading this and considering picking up Japanese—or any language—just know this: it’s hard, but it’s worth it. It’s also not linear. There are days where I feel like I’ve plateaued, and then out of nowhere, I understand a whole sentence I wouldn’t have last week.
Also take everything I said with a grain of salt, since I barely started learning a language for 2 months ;)
I might do a part two of this where I break down the actual tools, time management, and motivation strategies I used to keep the momentum going. If there’s anything in particular you want me to talk about, let me know.
For now, I’ll just leave you with this:
“If it were easy, everyone would do it—and it wouldn’t be worth doing.”
Resources mentioned
📚 Writing Systems & Basics
Tofugu – Hiragana & Katakana Guides
Amazing, beginner-friendly walkthroughs for learning the two phonetic writing systems.
Learn Hiragana | Learn Katakana
https://tofugu.com
🧠 Kanji + Vocabulary
WaniKani
A beautifully gamified spaced repetition app for mastering over 2,000 kanji and 6,000+ words. Built by the same people who made Tofugu.
https://www.wanikani.com
Anki
The king of custom flashcard apps. I use it with the Core 2k/6k deck to build my vocabulary.
https://apps.ankiweb.net
Core 2k/6k Anki Deck (by curated JP learners)
Based on the most frequently used Japanese words. Search on AnkiWeb or here’s a popular one.
🔤 Grammar
Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese Grammar
Free, beginner-to-intermediate grammar guide that’s well-structured and straightforward.
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammarCure Dolly – Organic Japanese Grammar (YouTube)
A strange but brilliant YouTube series that explains grammar in a uniquely visual and intuitive way.
https://www.youtube.com/@CureDolly
🧩 Immersion Tools
Netflix (with Japanese audio + subtitles)
I rewatch shows I’ve already seen in English, now in Japanese with Japanese subs. Great for context-heavy immersion.
https://www.netflix.com
Language Reactor (Chrome Extension)
Enhance your Netflix and YouTube immersion with dual subtitles, pop-up dictionaries, and word saving.
https://www.languagereactor.com
exciting
I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip to Japan with your Japanese! ;)