Available here: https://www.wanikani.com
Helpful 3rd-Party App (Apple): Tsurukame
First 3 levels are free, then you have to subscribe to continue.
Wanikani has been extremely helpful for learning kanji. They use mnemonics and a spaced repetition system.
Available here: https://www.humanjapanese.com
First 8 chapters are free, then you have to buy the full version to continue.
HumanJapanese is an excellent resource for learning grammar, and gaining insight as to why sentences are structured the way they are.
Available here: https://www.duolingo.com/course/ja/en/Learn-Japanese
Free with ads, you have to subscribe for premium.
Duolingo is not a good resource on its own, but is a great starting point and resource to use on the side. Their daily streaks and friend system make it so there is greater accountability to practice consistently.
Textbook that I used:
Yookoso! An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese Third Edition
Workbook to accompany Yookoso! An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese
Enrolling in a college course is something that obviously takes a huge financial and time commitment, something that a lot of people don’t have access to. However, learning in a classroom setting can give the best of all worlds.
There is accountability and pressure to learn consistently. You don’t want to fall behind because of activities you have to do with other classmates, and you don’t want to look like an idiot when you unexpectedly get called on to provide a correct answer in front of everyone.
Having a professor provides the ability to ask questions, if you are unsure about something. Graded homework assignments give security that you are doing things correctly. The curriculum provided will also make sure that you are learning things at a good pace.