Another update RE: my quest to learn Japanese

The last time I checked in regarding my quest to learn Japanese (a whole week and a half ago), I revealed that I'd successfully taught myself the language's hiragana alphabet (syllabary, if you're a stickler for such things).

What have I achieved since then? Why, I've only learned the language's katakana alphabet, that's all.



Granted, some folks learn both of these alphabets--er, syllabaries--in week or less, but neither my brain nor my schedule would allow for that.

Anyway, as a result of my two-to-three-week dedication to enhancing my ability to communicate with the world (ha!), I can now speak, read and write (with proper stroke order!) all of the Japanese language's hiragana and katakana characters.

As for what's next: vocabulary and basic grammar, mostly by way of the first volume of Genki's An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese.

I'm also going to take a Twitter friend's advice and stick Post-It notes with words like "chair" and "lamp" and "vase" (in Japanese, of course) around our house in order to speed up my comprehension of such everyday terms.



Will any of this help me learn enough Japanese to at least fumble my way through games I've always wanted to play, like Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru (PC Engine), Shin Onigashima (Famicom Disk System) and, er, Royal Stone (Game Gear)?

I have no idea, but I'll do my best to keep all of you in the loop either way.

See also: 'A long-overdue update RE: my quest to learn Japanese'

A long-overdue update RE: my quest to learn Japanese

All the way back in early January I mentioned--in this post--that I'd like to start learning Japanese this year.

Well, it took me a good while, but I finally started learning hiragana--one of the language's three syllabaries, along with katakana and kanji--just under two weeks ago.

In fact, as of Thursday I've memorized all 46 "basic" hiragana characters that can be seen in the chart below as well as the "functional marks" that are used to modify a handful of them.

Is this not the most adorable hiragana chart you've ever seen?

With that out of the way, though, I'm not entirely sure what to do next. Should I take the next week or so to learn the katakana syllabary, or should I start learning hiragana words and basic grammar and then come back to katakana?

I have a feeling I should go with the first option, but I'm completely open to suggestion at this point. What do those of you who've already learned Japanese think I should do?