Heyo WK! I’m in the boat, on the edge, and straddling the line

[HermancMacArt]

I pretty much started out on wanikani as a beginner. All i had done was the first 10 lessons of Pimsleurs audio course. Then I learned hiragana and katakana and that led me here. I tried the first three levels then i got the yearend discount when it came back around. You might look into lingodeer, i use it as well as a lot of the other resources mentioned in this thread.
You mentioned that your going in september and you may be surprised by how many folks in Japan speak english but it is so cool to converse and meet people in the japanese language and it makes the trip so much better!
Have fun learning!

[tip]

I am also going to Japan for the first time in September. I do not feel anyway ready to speak Japanese. If you are just starting out and have access to a public library look for materials to help with speaking/listening such as Pimsluer CDs and a program called Mango languages for example. These will get you up to a speed on survival phrases. People seem to like Japanesepod but there was too much English for me.
While you are online, look for a textbook called Genki to learn grammar points. You should be able to get through it (not master it) by September.
Definitely stay in the WK boat as it appears to be the best way I have found to learn kanji and some vocabulary.
Also check out this thread. It looks overwhelming but just organizes a lot of the resources that you can use.

The Ultimate Additional Japanese Resources List!

This post is a list of Japanese resources and stands as a collaborative wiki gathered by the WaniKani Community. If there’s a resource you feel is missing from the list, please add it by clicking the edit button above. Include an edit reason by clicking the button at the top of the edit window. Many of the resources here are free, however, the ones that aren’t are marked with a dollar sign $ or otherwise noted. Click on the triangle symbol ► to open a section’s resou…

[Loglog74]

@Gsai

It’s like when learning how to make love, you need to learn how to hold hands first. It’s exactly like that.

Well shoot…

[bnheise]

The problem you had just jumping into a grammar book is because you didn’t have a vocab base to use with the grammar. Wanikani might have felt more manageable, but it was probably also not helpful for communication. You don’t get any benefit from learning kanji if you can’t use them.

[JateLIVE]

Update, I learned Hiragana and Katakana and was able to pass my first Kanji lesson now that I understand the squiggles that sound out the other squiggles! I’ve got a decently high accuracy even with combined kana too thanks to making Anki cards of the Tofugu mnemonics for both.

I also bought げんき 1 based on recommendations and I’m using that to help with grammar and some vocabulary. It’s okay, but I think I want another resource that’s specifically listening based to go with it so I can put headphones in and do it while I’m getting groceries or whatever. I know there were some suggestions on this, so I’ll go back through now that I’ve gotten there.

Thanks all! I’m looking at it like a marathon, but I know how to walk at least now!

[Kumirei]

@jatedesigns

the squiggles that sound out the other squiggles

Japanese in a nutshell