For those of you who learned Japanese on your own, how did you

https://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/english/learn/list/
I liked these. These are audio lessons and each lesson has the written script provided. Gave me a good base before I came to Japan. Just Talking though, no reading/writing.

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You watch anime.
LOTS of it

>>18118704
I'll have to try, thanks! And I do watch a lot, but I've only picked up on so much. I'd like to get into writing as well, as that looks harder than speech

>>18118709
What's a good anime to drink to.
I just watched kon

>>18118652
read books.

look up steve kaufmann

Heisig RTK + Anki for basic literacy.
Shitton of reading for further literacy.
Shitton of listening for listening/speaking proficiency.

Fuck classes and textbooks (besides Heisig but just for the method), they're boring. Read and listen to things you enjoy and only look stuff up when you feel like it. Language is a matter of habit, not skill.

I'm biased, but I think taking classes is the best way to learn any language, especially if you're the kind of person who quits after a week because they lack self-discipline. I've been taking Japanese for almost a year and it's great. I'm forced to study and come to class each day because if I don't, I will fall behind and look like a retard in front of the class.

If you're dead set on learning on your own though, most people either use tae kim's guide or the genki series of textbooks. I'm not sure why you're asking this question here when /int/ has a dedicated thread to learning japanese with a ton of resources.

Question regarding specifically learning kanji.

What's the best way to learn it? I had a prof tell us to write it dozens of times over and over then memorize the kunyomi and onyomi meanings. When given compounds, I couldn't figure out which of the half a dozen meanings to use in combination. How do you do it without the use of rote memorization?

>>18120433
There is no other way. You just have to grind out the memorization.

>>18120433
>memorize the kunyomi and onyomi meanings.
Biggest thing I see Japanese learners wasting time on. There's already enough kanji to learn, multiplying that load by several factors is just ridiculous. Learn the readings in context.
>When given compounds, I couldn't figure out which of the half a dozen meanings to use in combination.
Just read real japanese. In context, the meaning will be a lot clearer. Learn readings in context too.
>How do you do it without the use of rote memorization?
There are more advanced memorization techniques, such as mnemonics and spaced repetition. But nothing beats reading.

TL;DR Read more Japanese.