I know kanji to see them, but to think of them in my head is like a blur.
For some people, it helps to write them down as you go along, making it easier to see clearly when you picture it in your head. But unless youāre planning to have a job in Japan that requires writing or living there (anything that will require you to write), itās not really a requirement.
If you think that writing will make remembering easy for you, then go for it! You can do it by writing full japanese example sentences with each grammar point you learn, or new kanji you make. Itāll be faster for you to read hiragana and katakana afterwards too!
Learn them now. The problem is that you are only learning them by rough appearance, which will cause you problems later on if it hasnāt already.
A lot of people think writing is useless, which in terms of its use in Japan may be true, but it can be incredibly useful in helping you to remember kanji so for me itās basically a requirement.
Also paying more attention to the radicals and using mnemonics may help you remember the details better.
Coming off a 4 month-hiatus, ē¬¬ and å¼ seemed to be the same character to me for two days, and having the same on-yomi reading further confused things for me. Itās amazing how easily you forget small things after a while.
Forgetting the small details is easy when you donāt have it burned into your skull, and writing can certainly help that.
Thereās no reason not to do it immediately. It makes learning a little smoother, and it takes maybe a minute extra to learn how to write a certain kanji.
Learn how to write all the grade 1 kanji (first 80) before you do anything else would be my recommendation. It makes things a lot easier. And theyāre all really simple, distinctive characters, too.
Practically, I donāt really see a reason for learning how to write kanji outside of Japan. If you can read and speak Japanese, you can also type it. But writing is a fantastic aid in the learning process, and I recommend you start doing it as soon as you start learning kanji so you donāt get lazy like me. It really cements the kanji in your mind.
Thereās a lot of foreigners who live in Japan who arenāt able to write whatsoever. Although the quality of their life isnāt of one who can write, itās really up to the individual if theyād like to defy expectations. (Although Iām pointing this out Iām not saying writing is not necessary).
There are reasons to delaying learning to write including but not limited to speeding up the acquisition of other language skills. Practicing writing kanji isnāt a one off activity but practice needs attention and regular cultivation otherwise youāll forget how to write characters over time. For this reason, many forgo this to focus on other language skills they feel will achieve their goals for Japanese.
@spencehughes90 if writing is a skill that is one of your top priorities for learning Japanese, then you should prioritize cultivating that skill. If itās lower on the list of things you need compared to other skills youād like to improve be aware that any time you dedicate toward writing will take away from those other priorities. In essence, Iām saying itās entirely dependent on your needs.
Like was said by most everyone here, it helps me to tell apart similar kanji and overall remember them better. But at least for me thereās the fact that I would be bothered if I were learning a language and couldnāt write it at all. I would feel illiterate if I could only understand it, and it feels pretty satisfying to write kanji on paper.
I find it helps me remember them when I write out each kanji and vocab word when I first encounter it in a lesson. Then, after Iāve done my WK reviews I do the Kaniwani reviews and write out each answer before I type it in.
I think the answer is if you have time, definitely as youāre learning them. Write each one a few times; make flashcards, etc.
But more practically, at least with me, I just wind up writing them as I need to in Japan. This means I am remembering rough appearances until the time comes to write someone a note, and after a few times writing it, it sticks. I think it goes without saying that the ones Iām forced to write at any point in daily life are the ones I remember best, and Iām always happy to have had to do it.
If I were still in the U.S. and studying as more of a hobby, Iād probably take the time to write as I went through each lesson.
Re: Requirement for life in Japan: I mean, I guuuuess itās not strictly necessary, but holy hell is it useful even when it comes to simple things like paperwork. Take the time to practice writing if you can afford it. Donāt break yourself over it, and if acquiring more vocabulary and kanji faster is your goal, itās definitely something you can focus on if and when you need it, but itās non-trivial in the long run.
I work on writing because I have taken, and will take again, the Kanji Kentei. Does that interest you? I think itās fun, but thatās just me.
As others have said, it can be useful to know how to write, but isnāt strictly required for life in Japan. I filled out a membership application the other day at Tsutaya, and the employee was mildly surprised that I knew how to write my own address. I mean, itās a low bar here.
The kanji kentei definitely interests me.
I think i should start taking the time to practice writing the kanji Iām learning.
That T Card is invaluable!
This is very true to the point that itās frustrating at times.
Japanese certainly seem to expect that no foreigner actually knows how to speak, which is really a pretty fair assumption 99% of the time. The 1% are just left to defy all expectations and be left frustrated. Reminds me of this video lol
I was doing RTK before Wanikani (still am). And the writing part was probably what really cemented the kanji, because my SRS was to actually write them (Kanji Study app).
Now with Wanikani, I realize that Iām needing the writing, mostly for the similar kanji, since I was so aware of small differences when writing, and I can see how you can mistake some kanji otherwise (cow vs. noon was my clearest example so far in WK 
)
Well, I guess that would explain my feelingā¦ I also feel a bit stupid now hahaha
Donāt worry too much about it. Despite our most persistent efforts to convince ourselves of the contrary, weāre all rather dense at the core 
.
No matter what people say, it depends on oneās goals and ability to learn.
Iām focusing on WK for Kanji for now because learning kanji vocab when you already know the Kanji is 5x more effective to me (probably even more). This way, WK is allowing me to increase my vocab learning productivity. āOh, cool! I can add this word to my vocab SRS because I already know the Kanji!ā It also avoids me a lot of wasted time, by having totally awkward words sent to me by message.
That said, Iāll only start with writing around lvl 40. Writing definitely helps a lot with retention (thatās the only way I got to learn hiragana and katakana, other options failed), but so do mnemonics/radical identification/etc. It all depends on what you want. Do you wanna send postcards to your Japanese friends? Cool, better start now then! 
Recently the was the so-called āinternational dayā at our universty and at the Japan-stand you could try some ęøé. The people there were visibly and audibly impressed when I wrote ē and é£. That by itself made me think that my daily handwriting practice paid off.
I kinda regret not having written 鬱 too though.
And writing with a calligraphy brush is an AMAZING
Speaking of which, you can also use this . I feel like you can get away with not writing them because you can always type and it slows you down, but Iām going to learn to write them only because of Japanese classes.