Okay I've always been very interested in the Japanese culture so I've been trying to self teach myself Japanese. I have basic greetings down (Konnichiwa! Ogenki desu ka?) And I've got pronunciation down pretty good. I also have a book that has phrases and things in it but... my only issue is that it's a travel one. You know the kind of book that only teaches you the stuff you would need to know if you are traveling there (foods, where's the bathroom, how do I get here? etc.). I want to be able to strike up a conversation in Japanese and be able to understand someone Japanese if they talk to me and be able to talk back. Can anyone out there recommend a good book, site, or tape that I could go to to learn the language not travel stuff? I really want to learn this language!

Domo arigoto!

Anyone?

I would suggest that you take some lessons for japanese, at a college or pay for classes yourself. Watch a lot of japanese movies in japanese with the english subtitle, it can be anime or whatever. But I what I found to be really helpful is taking classes, but what helps even more is if you have a really good professor.