[jasonbvr]

My advice is to wait till you are able to attend a Japanese university for a semester or two abroad. I see high school students everyday riding their bikes to and from school at all hours of the day, and I assure you there is nothing to envy.

On the tourist versus immersion note, I suggest you travel as a tourist first in your life then morph into an immersion type. Responsibility honestly sucks when all you want to do is get out and explore.

Last bit of advice, try talking them into a summer study program first before pulling a whole year. For your family's point of view a few weeks of missing you would be a lot easier to cope with than a full year, and this would also help you out a lot as well. I am unsure if you've ever lived away from home for an extended period of time, but it can be rather daunting at times.