Gee a topic about which I can speak with authority.

Japanese is the easiest language to learn. Also the hardest.

The grammar is extraordinarily simple. You can learn most of the basic grammar you need in a few weeks of intensive memorization.

Pronunciation is so easy for an English speaker you hardly even have to work at it.

Vocab works the way English works: combine some parts to make a whole. So once you learn a core set of words you can generate new ones relatively easily.

The writing system is extraordinarily difficult. Kana - you can memorize the entire hiragana/katakana system in a day if you really want to. But kanji! Count on spending years working at it.

Colloquial, socially appropriate speech - extraordinarily difficult. You can get the basic concepts from a book or class, but this level you can only really learn in-country, from native-speaker informants, and even then you may not get it completely.

In sum, you can learn enough J to communicate effectively verbally, and to understand manga, etc. pretty easily. Practical advice: find a Japanese bookstore or website - I'd bet there's more good printed material for students of J than for any other language. Memorize, memorize, memorize, and actually make the sounds. And find a native speaker to help you. And don't be intimidated. And don't waste your time if you're not serious about it. And if you _really_ want to learn the language, plan on a stay in Japan of at least one year. There's no other way to do it.

(I've studied J for years, Japanese wife, etc. but gave up trying to really master it since I've not lived in Japan. If you want to try a *truly* difficult language, try Arabic. I'm pretty fluent - 2+ years in Egypt, not enough. *Everything* about Arabic is *very* difficult. Makes Japanese look like a walk in the park.)

good luck.