Job Discussion Forums

[sallycat]

if you learn to read katakana -- you get to read words like "chocolate" and "chicken" -- it instantly makes life easier.
if you learn to read some kanji -- you get to read key words like "pork", "dentist's surgery" , etc -- it also can make life easier for you very quickly. (there's no reason why you need to learn to write the damn things, or learn exotics like the kanji for "commiting-suicide-by-jumping-in-front-of-a-train", unless you're a weirdo like me.)
if you learn to read hiragana -- you can understand verb endings and conjunctions -- wouldn't be much use for the average beginner if it weren't for the fact that train stations often have their names written in hiragana as well as kanji -- but then in most areas they have them written in english too.

[Angelfish]

I learnt the Kana before coming out here. Best thing I ever did. Wish those Japanese lessons hadn't fallen through, though.

In my Japanese lessons at Geos I'm getting my teacher to go through 10 kanji with me each week, reading, writing and meaning(s) of each one. Then, if I can use any of these kanji in the sentences I'm writing (currently in Hiragana), I will substitue the Kana for the new Kanji. Also, I'm making a kanji vocab list of all the words I can make out of combining the kanji I already know. This is also helping with the different readins.

One of the best things I found for how to read the kanji, though, is road signs with the kanji and romanji names of towns.

Good luck!

[Vince]

Since you're asking what you should learn, you obviously aren't a language junky and are looking for efficiency.

It depends on how long you'll be in Japan and what you'll be doing. If you plan to be here for a year, teach English at an eikaiwa, and take in a bit of the country, you won't need much. Hiragana and katakana would be worth your time, along with a handful of basic kanji.

Kanji can get incredibly complex, but you can keep it simple. I'd suggest learning to recognize the kanji for the express stops on the train line(s) you'll usually ride, along with the kanji for things like entrance, exit, and do not enter.

Keep in mind that your level of literacy will determine the extent to which you'll access the country and get to know it. The more fluent and literate you are, the more likely you are to be treated like an intelligent adult. But people won't judge your lack of literacy if they know you're a short-term sojourner.