Oh dear, I didn't expect such a deluge of responses.
@gyuujuice: Thanks! My writing "style" is elementary since this is my first attempt at blogging.
What do you mean by being all over Japanese skills but wanting to jump to J-J? You possess a large formal vocabulary but find yourself struggling with interpreting casual speak? I hacked at the tree of learning little by little, noting unknown words I heard and looking them up, one by one. If someone spoke to me and threw out an unknown word, I would stop the conversation to have them explain its meaning.
It helps to pronounce these new words yourself, so you can at least get used to hearing it from yourself. For example, the word とりあえず sounded like a jumble of syllables to me at first despite often hearing the word. I needed someone to spell it out for me.
@zachandhobbes: Thanks! Yup, complete immersion can only help you. Though I've met tons of foreigners who still had mediocre Japanese ability after years of living there. You're already a step ahead by having the gung-ho to apply yourself to studying.
@vileru: Yes, 75% Filipino and 25% Chinese. Asians are treated differently in Japan, but I wouldn't say better or worse. This topic could be an entirely new blog post, but simply put, the Japanese cannot tell other Asians apart from looks alone. Even when I first moved there and had an American haircut--short by their standards--they thought I was one of them. After I grew my hair out, no one would assume I was non-Japanese.
What does visually fitting in do for you? You won't experience the clearing of space around you on a crowded train, a phenomenon described quite humorously by the Gaijin Smash blog. As for expectations, I found that they had none. Most were surprised that I knew how to use chopsticks. No one expected me to speak perfect Japanese, and that's even after I passed the JLPT 1 and obtained a new job through interviewing in Japanese.
I suggest you don't go into Japan with preconceptions. Gaijin are treated as gaijin, one way or another. No one will gawk at the sight of you, but if you speak any sort of Japanese, you might still cause a few mouths to drop open in surprise.
@napurenon: Thanks! Tell me how it works out for you.
@AlexandreC: That's a good question, but impossible to answer. Had I not even moved to Japan, I would not have had the motivation to study. I watched anime growing up, but not enough to compel me to learning the language.
But let's say I was focused and determined...I would still have to say about the same amount of time. I would have probably still flunked the listening portion, but I might have achieve better scores if I had concentrated solely on the test, without being distracted by learning words for work and casual conversations. My first year in Japan was dedicated to learning the language as a whole, not learning for a test.
@jettyke: Salarymen are the worst offenders. Even in bathrooms, I heard a よいしょ！ Too much info?
Edited: 2011-04-04, 10:33 am
