Do you know of a beginner Japanese course that will help me get started with learning Japanese?

1 - Japan has the 2nd largest economy in the world so the business opportunities for global travelers is huge.

2 - Knowing Japanese is great for your career as it increases employability with global companies looking to expand into Japan.

3 - Japanese speakers are in the Top 3 language group of Internet users worldwide.

4 - The Japanese are international tourists, world travelers and culturally associated with the ideas of perfection and innovation.

5 - Knowing Japanese will set you apart from the crowd and is a stepping stone to learning other Asian languages.

'Speak Japanese Fast' is a free, downloadable book that can help you get started with learning Japanese. The author David McGimpsey, is a Japanese language veteran who uses innovative word association to teach Japanese to native English speakers.

Justin L is has a lot of great reasons. I studied Japanese some time ago and it was really fun. Though I do have a tendency to mix up my words with other languages (I had some free time on my hand and started studying various languages). Hajimemashite! Sayonara!

Well, I can strongly recommend "Let's Learn Japanese" TV language course. You can download it from mininova.org or just use YouTube. It's great and free. Everything explained.

Now the advantages. Japanese is a VERY important language. If you think about it, their culture is unique (true, it IS modernized and stuff but still preserves its cultural and historical uniqueness).
Then there is economy - 2nd most powerful economy in the world. Many Japanese companies (Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic most importantly -electronics - and some car companies, restaurants, and others)

3rd, THE ENTERTAINMENT - there are thousands and thousands of video games , anime and manga titles out there. Many of them are never translated into English - usually because of American narrow-minded attitude ( Dating Sims for example are not to be seen in English, which is a big pity)

and lastly but not leastly PEOPLE - japanese are very smart, well mannered plus the country is beautiful .

So yeah, the knowledge of their language will be an ENORMOUS advantage to you, it will open a whole new world to you. Forget about French and Spanish and all this. Everyone learns those. Try Japanese. it's cool and good sounding as well

PS. Japanese girls are very pretty :)