Why You Want To Learn Japanese

[nihongonovice]

Well I'm under the very strong impression that I was Japanese in my last life, and I'm trying to get back to mah roots, so to speak.
Well I guess it started when I was in middle school, Asian things just fascinated the shizznit outta me for some unbeknowsnt reason, and as I got older, I became fixated with Japan specifically. I can safely blame Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing for that. Maybe Dragon Ball too. But yeah, anime was a big part of what made me fall in love with Japan. If it wasn't for anime, I wouldn't have randomly started listening to anime radio and I never would have -accidentally- discovered Dir en Grey, Gackt, Hyde,and X-Japan, and I probably wouldn't be so obsessed with JRock this very day. The culture is awesome too though. I love ukiyo-e art. It's so original and breathtaking. I'm also a fan of the kimono, it's probably the most graceful (not to mention hardest to wear) garment ever made. I want one. Several, actually. Katanas and the whole bushido way of life fascinates me as well. I want to visit Japan during the spring and just OD on cherry blossoms. Oh yeah, hitting on a couple of hot Japanese guys would also be an upside of learning Japanese

[dinkot]

let's face it, ..like it or not,
there're just SO MANY cool/great things about this country, that makes MOST of my US, Chinese, & Indonesian friends all 'dream' to go there!
And it's furthermore strengthened by the fact that some gaijins (foreigners) who've lived long enough in Japan actually said a resounding YES! , that Japan is really such a cool place ....sometimes 'unexplainable' in words WHY is that!
it's just the 'atmosphere' is NICE!

I can safely say then, that even if I have to also struggle daily with a job in Japan, with all those heavy-workhours & loads people often mentioning about,...heck, I would still trade ANYthing so I can live there! ...rather here in Indonesia (my home-country), 'cuz honestly, it sucks ! :/

[tomu99]

I love Japan because of its culture and people. I have a passion for Japan, I've been learning the language since I was 15. I wanna live there. Which I will, I plan to teach English as a foreign language there.

[ilovejapanese]

i wanted to learn japanese probably becuz of the culture, anime/manga and i just love the way it's written and the way it's spoken. however, i speak english as my first language (i'm studying spanish in school, there is no japanese course there( ) and i find that learning the hiragana alphabet was difficult at first. mainly becuz the characters act as sounds, not letters like in english. i suppose that threw me off alot. but i find that spelling romanji in hiragana is extremely easy and it ws much easier than learning all of those "hidden letters" in english, or words that are pronounced the same but spelt differently. i hope to have hiragana sown pat in a few days (i've been studying my butt off for hours trying t memorize hiragana, and my family thinks i'm crazy, but w/e )

[angeljoanes]

Well, for me, I was planning about moving to Japan and applying to become Japanese citizen. I already have some families there. (although I hear it's very hard to apply to become Japanese citizen).

[TokyoRoze]

Im glad my thread is still doing quite well. I want to re-learn japanese because I will be going into game development. And it would help alot to know japanese if I commute between japan and california.

[lalaith]

I am just posting to get you-know-who's extra long name off the Super Thread View. It's messing up the page layout.

However, to keep it on topic I gave my reason here in A Proper Introduction.

[michaelarda]

I am interesting Because ; I love Japan , Japanese...I love its culture , People , Cooks....
What can ı say more ?

I love . so I am interesting... !!!

[geishagirl]

I guess it all started off with Japanese Drama. I simply love the gentle language!

[Pork Chop]

My dad got us stationed in Okinawa my last 2 years of high school.
it was different
i finally fit in
i loved the times i had there
goal was to go to college and go back
didn't want to teach english so that was a bit difficult
never forgot what i learned
studied on my own for a long time coz the college courses were pretty bad

took a few years off eventually just because it was proving so hard to get back there
almost settled down and married a girl who was anti-anything japanese
then she ran off with some young kid barely out of college

hurt like heck but probably the best thing that ever happened to me
threw myself back into japanese studies
joined an okinawan eisa drumming troop
even went back to okinawa for the first time in 10 years (vacation, not to live)

my vacation was weird.
it was sad seeing how much okinawa had changed, how much of what i loved about it was lost, but i'm still plugging away.

Starting with JLPT this year.
going for 4 first eventhough i can pretty easily pass 3.
want to make sure i ace at each level & be ready for 2 in 2 more years.

not 100% sure why i still do it.
at one point i figured it was all i had left.
most of the time i think it's too much a part of me to just stop doing altogether.
hanging out with my okinawan friends is the closest thing i ever feel to having a tight group of friends & family, so I guess I kinda do it for that.

Never spent any significant time in mainland japan, though maybe someday if American-Okinawan relations keep deteriorating.

would love to hear from anybody who's got any experience with Okinawa.
it's a great place if you venture out offbase.

planning on going back August of 2008 for Orion Beer Fest and the big Eisa Taiki.

[akastevie]

I'm learning Japanese because... well... Japan has Playstation, and all that other gaming goodness, and to understand anime without reading the subtitles... (sometimes I look away to check on something and I miss the subtitles, chikushou...) after I tried learning, like everyone else, I liked it more and more with each passing day, also, I'm Vietnamese so I guess I'd fit in (points to eyes, showing the Asian trait)

Now, I'm determined to learn Japanese to the fullest extent, and live in Japan someday, to step foot in Japan... someday... funny how small things can turn out big, isn't it?

[Cypher]

konbanwa there are many reasons why I want to learn nihongo but the biggest reason is that it is something that I have wanted to do for years.

[tsp_uk]

Hmm my parents come from HK and I am interested in cultures/countries within Asia. As well since so many people say Japanese is difficult, I wanted a challenge.

[Xurma]

Because of japanese script and kanji they look so cool so i want to be able to read japanese, and japanese culture is great too <3

[benny]

Am travelling there in September. It's always a good idea to know at least some of the local lingo. Studied it in high school too, so not a total newbie to it.