One thing’s for sure: I don’t find Japanese easy to learn. The grammar seems reasonably straightforward, but my inability to read very many kanji, which are the Chinese characters used in most Japanese writing, means I can’t read books very quickly, even with the aid of good dictionaries.
However, I have found one really good audio-based resource for learning Japanese, called JapanesePod101.com. I discovered “Jpod101” right after they launched, while I was working in London at Skype. I started using their free daily podcasts to hear conversational Japanese in a way that I wasn’t getting in my normal Japanese class. I wouldn’t substitute Jpod101′s podcasts for my formal classes, but they are definitely complimentary to one another.
I feel as if I have become Amazon’s favorite customer, with all the Japanese language learning resources I’ve bought (and used!) during the past year. However, because one of my biggest challenges is still 聞き取り (listening comprehension), few of the resources I have can compare to Jpod101 for understanding regular everyday conversations. Of course, conversational groups are great, too, but with podcasts it’s easy to listen to key material as many times as you want, whenever you want.
http://coffee-and-milk.radilog.net/ のポドカストが好きだ。余り分かないけど、良い聞き取り練習と思う。私はポドカストを沢山聞いたから、聞く事を進むと思う。
Admittedly, I’m still rather getting used to the way that Japanese people speak (and I mean real people, not textbook voice actors), but I personally think that my listening ability has soared since; in that it’s no longer an indistinct noise, almost, but they sound rather more like words and I do recognise a lot more than I’d be able to otherwise, You certainly have the advantage yourself, being surrounded by Japanese speakers!
頑張って！