For me, my interest in Japan started when I was a kid. Most of the animation I liked was Japanese, or at least had Japanese animators. Battle of the Planets with G-Force (Gatchaman) was one of my favourite shows. I got books out on Japan and was taken with the Samurai (even dressed up like one at a school fancy dress lol). Throughout my life Japan has popped up and caught my interest whether it be some innovative technology, Shintoism or anime. Japanese games and music led me to start a more in depth exploration to find out more about japanese culture and language to the point where I want to learn more about Japan from it's own people. Now I want to visit the place that has caught my attention so much but before I do I want to be able to converse freely and not expect my host to use English. I also want to learn mannerisms too. I found out (on NHK) that crossing fingers means basically, I am done, and pointing to your nose means it's mine. In short. So for me, I've always been fascinated by Japan, I just wish I would have started to learn the language at an earlier age.
