Japanese is essentially 16th-century Chinese, 17th-century Portuguese, 18th-century Dutch, 19th-century French and 20th-century English with an abhorrence of consonant clusters. Matthew Faupel (in John Cowan's Essentialist Explanations)

Yuta Aoki is a man from Tokyo who teaches Japanese online. In a comment on one of his YouTube videos, he gives the following warning about texbooks:

I just remembered this but sometimes, how you phrase your questions makes Japanese people think that you don't speak Japanese very well. I noticed that Japanese textbooks always (I've checked dozens of textbooks but I haven't found any exception yet) teach you to speak like a 'foreigner' and not like a Japanese person. There are so many expressions that you see in textbooks but you don't really hear in real life.

Learning Japanese (General)

Websites for Learning Japanese Online

Japanese Writing System(s)

Japanese uses a combination of writing systems: kanji (copied from China), hiragana (a syllabary for writing native words), katakana (a syllabary for writing foreign words, loan words, for technical and scientific terms, etc.) and romaji (the Japanese name for the Latin script). Hiragana and katakana are collectively known as “kana”.

Writing System: General Resources

Hiragana: Wikipedia article with a handy table of hiragana.

Katakana: Wikipedia article with a handy table of katakana.

Distinguishing certain characters in handwriting and print (Similar-looking Kana and Kanji), a question posted on Japanese Stack Exchange in September 2011.

Learning Hiragana and Katakana

Learning Kanji

Dictionaries

Textbooks

Textfugu: an online textbook for learning Japanese through self-study. You can try the first "season" for free.

Genki is a very popular series of textbooks for learning Japanese. The Self-study Room on Genki's website has links to some useful resources. For a review, see for example Michael Richey's The Definitive Genki Textbook Review (03.11.2015).

Grammar

Other Resources

Other Aspects of Japanese

Proficiency Tests

Japanese-Language Proficiency Test ( JLPT )

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test or JLPT is a standardized (…) test to evaluate and certify Japanese language proficiency for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability ( Wikipedia: Japanese-Language Proficiency Test ). In Japan, the JLPT is administered by the Japan Educational Exchanges and Services ( JEES ). Overseas, the tests are typically organised by the The Japan Foundation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in co-operation with local educational institutions.

Kanji kentei

Kanji Kentei and Kanken are two unofficial names for the Japan Kanji Aptitude Test.

Bu Sensei (Bret Mayer): Master the Kanji Kentei! 10級 : YouTube playlist with 4 videos that are between 10 and 18 minutes long. Master the Kanji Kentei! 9級 : YouTube playlist with 7 videos that are between 8 and 15 minutes long.



About the Japanese Language in General

sci.lang.japan Frequently Asked Questions: a list of questions and answers about the Japanese language originally from the Usenet newsgroup sci.lang.japan . The list covers many aspects, including the writing system, grammar, word origins, examinations and etiquette.

. The list covers many aspects, including the writing system, grammar, word origins, examinations and etiquette. JOSHU : Japanese Online Self-Help Utility.

: Japanese Online Self-Help Utility. Paul / Langfocus: The Japanese Language, a 24-minute video that gives an overview of the characteristics of Japanese.

The many ways to say “I”, Nihonshock, 28.11.2009.

This blog posts lists the common forms (watashi, watakushi, boku, ore, atashi, uchi, kochira/kocchi, ware and washi) and a number of special forms (wagahai, oira, sessha, atai, yo and warawa).

Culture and Everyday Life

Japanese Computing, Font Faces and Typography