みなさん、こんにちは。
I’m new here so let’s get よろしくお願いします！out of the way 
Now that’s sorted, I’m sure we all have our own story when it comes to learning Japanese. The first time I tried to tackle this language was when 宇多田ヒカル released her debut single back in 1998. I self-taught the two sets of kana’s and a few basic kanji’s just so I could read the lyrics of “Automatic.” I took a few Japanese classes here and there after that, but nothing really stuck. Been there, done that, knew the lyrics to “Automatic” by heart 
As life happened, 日本語 got put on the back burner as I went on to explore other interests and engage in other things. Then, two decades later, I browsed through Netflix and came across ‘Utada Hikaru Laughter in the Dark Tour 2018’ (highly recommended even though you’re not a fan!), and all the memories of my trying to learn Japanese back in the days came flooding back. I’m inspired once again to take on the challenge.
And what a time to learn it, too. I’ve learned a few foreign languages in my time, but nothing comes close to Japanese in terms of resources and supportive communities (shoutout to WK 
). It’s only been a few weeks of reacquainting myself with the language and I’m having a blast. Might be that it’s still a honeymoon period and all, but hey, one day (one kanji?) at a time, right?
I’d love to hear some of your Japanese learning stories. I’m sure behind every blood, sweat and tears there’s an inspiring story we all could relate to one way or another 
! Enjoy the awesome discussions that can be found in this forums, like for example: