I've been learning Japanese since August 2016. Back then I took about two months of lessons and I had a great time but since then I've relied solely on self-study and progress has slowed. I think it's partly due to not having regular conversation practice. However recently I've tried to pick it up by working on my writing in Hiragana and Katakana, trying to learn a bit of Kanji and by writing and recording a diary in Japanese at least once a day. Some conversation would really help improve my listening and speaking skills. I'm going to Japan for the third time in February. In 2015 I went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, but this time I will be going to Hokkaido for some snowboarding. I'm excited, but I'd like to be able to make some friends this time while I'm there and be a little more respectful to locals working in shops and restaurants :) My goal for 2017 is to pass N5 JLPT, but I know I have a long way to go! I would say I probably could recall about 10 kanji from sight, but I can only write about 5.