Hi,
My main reason for wanting to learn Japanese used to be that I love a good challenge and to learn new things. I am French and currently living in the US. I am also pretty decent at Italian. While in highschool I studied Russian. I have forgotten more than I thought I knew but I am back on the horse and it is going well so far.
Anyhow, I decided to seriously learn Japanese a few weeks back. I have now quite a few friends that are living in Tokyo and I promised them that I would visit eventually. And I don’t want to be a liar. Also, I don’t know enough about Japan (yet) but I want to learn more and I don’t think there is any better way than by using Japanese to read (and listen to) local accounts. And the challenge is still very exhilarating!